


Hold On My Heart Part II (I Found You)

by ValkyrieNine



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: AgentReign, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Complete, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Intrigue, Longing, Mystery, One Big Happy Family, Passion, Romantic Ending, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Soulmates, Sad with a Happy Ending, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Soulmates, SuperCorp, romantic fluf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-02-23 18:53:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 42,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18707938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValkyrieNine/pseuds/ValkyrieNine
Summary: Lena and Kara have just begun to explore there new life together. They are madly in love and have finally found happiness in each other’s arms.With the support of Alex and Sam, they find the courage to go all in.A startling revelation about Lena’s past and a new foe bring new struggles to the pair who have fought so hard to be together.Will they overcome the challenges they face or fall victim to the darkness that threatens to destroy them and everyone they love?





	1. The Wall

The wall that stood before **_her ___** _ _was utter chaos. Pictures of Lena Luthor were sprawled across the giant canvas of insanity. The curator of this madness carefully and methodically placed newspaper clippings, magazine articles, school transcripts, blood donation records and even crumpled up hand written notes around the images.__

****

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Some of the pictures were easily accessible online. Pictures of Lena at press conferences, charity balls, and L-Corp events seemed almost commonplace next to the strangely weathered photos of Lena as a child, her graduation photo from MIT and pictures of the entire Luthor family looking happy for the camera. 

**_She ___** _ _grabbed a photo of Lena and Kara walking through the carnival and hung it on the wall next to a series of pictures, all of Kara and Lena taken with a telephoto lens. There were others like it, pictures of Lena walking through her apartment, walking and talking with Sam and the most disturbing photos were those of Kara and Lena making love only the night before.__

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**_She ___** _ _had been close.__

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The photos all had one thing in common. From far away they all looked normal but up close each of the photos of Lena had been disfigured, the eyes scratched out and carefully placed slices applied to her face. 

**_She ___** _ _walked over to a table that sat alone in the dingy basement. A single lightbulb swung back and forth without provocation.__

__**_She ___** _ _picked up a large military style knife and made her way back to the wall.___ _

********

********

_____ _

_____ _

**_She ___** _ _began to drag the sharp edge of the blade across her latest addition, mangling and distorting their faces.__

 _ _**_She ___** _ _cut and sliced and stabbed until all that was left of the photo were eerie remnants of Lena’s smile, still intact.____

****

****

_____ _

_____ _

***

“Lena…should I go on?”, Kara asked with a furrowed brow.

“It’s a hoax”, Lena said coming to her senses. “This is just nonsense concocted by Lillian…yes…this is definitely Lillian.”

Sam, Alex and Ruby ran to Lena’s side.

“Hey…are you two okay? We were waving and then we saw…well…we’re not sure what we saw. Is everything okay?”. Sam asked. 

“I’m fine. Someone bumped into Kara and conveniently dropped this package with my name on it. There is a letter printed on my father’s letterhead but the whole thing seems absolutely ridiculous. My father is dead and if I know Lillian…this was another stunt to manipulate me and mess with my mind.”

Kara caressed Lena’s head gently. 

“But what if it isn’t Lena?”

Lena put a hand to Kara’s cheek and kissed her softly on the lips. She gave her a big smile. Her eyes still glistened with tears and Kara knew there was more to this than Lena was saying out loud. 

“Listen…I’m going to take this letter and the package back to my lab. I will fingerprint everything and I guarantee Lillian will be all over this. I am going to toss these things away and never think of them again. I finally found my happiness and I will not let Lillian destroy it.”

Lena took the letter from Kara’s hand and shoved it back into the envelope. 

“Come on…everything is fine. Let’s enjoy the day together.”

Sam, Kara and Alex all stood there looking concerned. Lena was good at shutting out her feelings but this seemed unusual even for her.

Lena placed the package in her purse and zipped it up. 

Ruby ran up and gave Lena a huge hug. She looked up at Lena who was trying desperately to look happy.

“So you’re really okay?”

“Absolutely Ruby. Come on. We have a carnival to explore.”

Lena grabbed Ruby’s hand and they were off. Alex, Sam and Kara stood for a moment. 

“'This isn’t right. What isn’t she telling us?”, Sam asked. 

“Maybe she just wants to put all of this family drama behind her.”, Alex said watching her skip with Ruby down the aisle.

“Did you read the letter Kara?”, Sam asked. 

“The only other word I saw before she took the letter was a name.”

“A name?”, Alex asked. 

“Mara. I saw the name Mara.”

“What do you think this all means?”, Alex asked.

“I don’t know but Lena is shutting it out and it worries me.”

Kara’s body tensed. 

Ruby and Lena turned around smiling. 

“Come on! Hurry up!”, Lena yelled from a few hundred yards away. 

The sounds of the carnival still played eerily in the backdrop.

Kara knew this was far from over.

***

The women did their very best to put the strange package out of their minds but Kara knew how the letter began. It was easy for Alex and Sam to pretend that everything was okay but Kara knew how the sentence must have been sticking in the back of Lena’s mind, torturing her curiosity. 

What was the terrible secret about Lena? No secret could ever make Kara love her any less. No matter what the letter said, Kara would always be there for her. 

The newly formed family spent the day at the carnival riding rides, playing games and eating everything they could get their hands on. Lena stayed close to Kara and took every opportunity she could to hold her, kiss her and cuddle with her. 

After a while, Kara realized she was overthinking the whole situation. She couldn’t control how Lena felt and she wasn’t about to lose an opportunity to enjoy time with the woman she loved and all of the people that mattered to her. 

When they got back to the house they were all full of carnival food and completely exhausted. They all collapsed in the living room on the couches and chuckled at how useless they all felt. Even Kara with her super power was taken down by the deep fried sweets and corn dogs. 

“Does anyone else feel like they could sleep right here?”, Alex asked.

“I feel like I might die from exhaustion”, Kara joked. 

Lena grabbed Kara and had her lay down in her lap. She leaned down and kissed her cheek and caressed her head along her hairline. Kara looked up at Lena and smiled sweetly.

“How did I get so lucky?”, Kara asked with a sparkle in her eyes. 

Lena leaned down and kissed Kara’s lips. 

“I was wondering the same thing.”

Sam, Alex and Ruby nested on the couch in their usual spot. Alex held onto Sam with on arm and held Ruby’s hand with the other. Ruby had already closed her eyes. She was down for the count.

“It’s dinner time but I don’t know if I could ever eat again”, Sam joked. 

“Shower, sleep and more sleep…and yeah that never eating again thing sounds pretty good”, Lena said smiling. Kara wrapped her arm around Lena and nestled in closer. She just couldn’t get close enough.

“You know Lena…you’re welcome to stay here too. We could have one giant slumber party for the next couple of days”, Sam said with a wink.

Kara cleared her throat. 

“Oh yeah…that reminds me…you guys are getting a furniture delivery on Friday.”

Alex and Sam looked at each other confused. 

A blush danced across Kara’s cheeks as she tried to not make eye contact with her sister.

Sam looked at Lena inquisitively.

Lena gestured with her hands to show a big explosion and Sam understood what she meant.

“Babe…I think we’re going to have to get some insurance on our furniture if they stay.”

The three of them laughed as Alex tried to catch up. 

“Oh God Kara”, Alex said trying to shake the thought out of her head.

Lena beamed.

“Sounds about right.”

They all started laughing. Ruby was in such a deep sugar coma she didn’t even stir. 

Alex and Sam extracted themselves from the couch and the four women made their way to the kitchen to chat where they wouldn’t disturb Ruby.

They sat around the kitchen table. Sam sat in Alex’s lap and and Lena sat in Kara’s lap.They were all completely exhausted but the events of the afternoon hung over them like a dark cloud.

“How are you feeling Lena?”, Sam asked laying her head against Alex’s chest.

Lena kissed Kara’s cheek and rubbed her face against Kara’s neck softly. 

“I’m beat but I’m good.”

“Who would have thought a carnival could be so exhausting.”

“So, Lena…do you want to stay the night?”, Sam asked. 

“I think I’ll head home and try to get some rest.”

Kara tried not to look disappointed. 

Lena sat up and wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck. 

“I know you have really nice accommodations here…but would you be interested in maybe coming to stay with me for a couple days?”, Lena asked Kara sweetly. “You know…while you get your apartment taken care of. 

Sam and Alex both smiled. Kara and Lena were clearly desperately in need of some alone time.

“Really?”, Kara said grinning. “I wouldn’t want to impose.”

Lena gently caressed Kara’s cheek and smiled. She pressed her her lips gently to Kara’s ear and whispered very quietly.

“I want you now.”

Kara wrapped her arms around Lena and picked her up. She smiled and stood at attention. 

“You two have five minutes to get out of here or we’ll come and kick you out”, Alex said with a grin.

“Yeah…get out of here”, Sam said with a wink. 

***

**_She ___** _ _made her way through the dark apartment. It took everything in _her _to stick to the plan and not set the apartment ablaze. _Get in, plant the devices, and get out. Stick to the plan._____

_____ _

_____ _

Lena and Kara stood just outside Lena’s door. Lena grabbed Kara with one arm and kissed her passionately. She placed her key into the deadbolt and unlocked the door just as **_she ___** _ _slipped out the window and closed it behind _her.___

_____ _

_____ _

Lena pushed open the door and rolled her luggage in. Kara followed closely behind. She closed the door behind them and locked it. 

Kara had been to Lena’s apartment many times but today felt very different. Kara had often fantasized about being with Lena intimately in her apartment but now reality came flooding in and she found herself almost shaking with desire. 

Lena rolled her luggage to the side. Lena walked over to Kara and wrapped her arms around her waist. 

“Baby, you’re shaking.”

Kara smiled. She put both of her hands to Lena’s cheeks. 

“I’ve wanted this for so long. Every time I walked into this apartment I wondered what it would be like to wake up next to you.”

Lena gave Kara the sweetest smile. 

She leaned in and kissed Kara’s cheek, her ear, her neck. Lena wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck and kissed her long and deep. She tingled under Kara’s touch. 

Kara looked at Lena and she was overwhelmed by her beauty.

“You are breathtaking Lena.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth.”

Lena took Kara’s glasses off and set them down on the side table. 

“I could get lost in your beautiful blue eyes.”

Kara’s face got serious for a moment. 

“I promise I won’t bring it up again Lena but I have to ask…are you sure you’re okay?”

Lena caressed Kara’s cheek.

“I’m good…My Super. I’m wrapped in your arms and I’m in heaven…are you okay? Did the letter bother you?”

“Of course not. Lena, no matter what happens, no matter what we face, no matter what kind of hell anyone tries to put us through please know that I love you with all my heart. I will never doubt you and I will never leave your side. You are my heart. I just worry about you. You are always my number one concern.”

“Kara, I love you so much. Your faith in me and your love are why I can walk away from this. Please don’t worry about me. It’s a hoax and I will not allow Lillian’s weird manipulation take one more happy moment from us.”

“Will you promise me something?”

“Of course.”

“If you need ANYTHING and I mean anything I will be here. You only have to say the word.”

“I will my love….so…what would you like to do?”

Kara grabbed Lena tight and gave her a devilish smile. 

“What wouldn’t I like to do?”, Kara asked.


	2. The Homecoming

**_She ___** __set down a brand new laptop onto the old rusty table. She took a seat and clicked a button on the keyboard. Lena’s face appeared on the screen. The video was an old interview with Lena when she purchased CatCo Worldwide Media._ _

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**_She ___** __watched Lena speaking. She clicked rewind and watched the footage over and over again. She pulled up video after video and watched Lena talking, laughing and answering questions thoughtfully._ _

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**_She ___** __began to repeat the words Lena said trying to mimic her tone and her mannerisms. She hit rewind and watched the footage again and again._ _

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**_She ___** __clicked another button and the screen changed to a black and white view of a hidden camera. Kara and Lena appeared on the screen._ _

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**_She ___** __was watching._ _

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***

Lena poured two glasses of wine and carried them over to the living room. Kara worked on lighting a fire in the fireplace but the matches kept blowing out. She looked back at Lena and smiled. She put her finger to her temple and lit the logs with her laser vision. The wood lit quickly and within seconds there was a a big beautiful fire blazing before them. 

Lena set down the glasses of wine on the table and sat down on the couch. Kara stood up and walked over to the gorgeous brunette. Lena put a hand out to Kara with longing in her eyes. 

Kara sat down on the couch and pulled Lena close. Lena laid in Kara’s lap and looked up at her with a grin. 

“I love having you here”, Lena said softly. 

Kara took her hand and moved some of the hair out of Lena’s eyes. She caressed her cheek softly.

“There is nowhere in the universe I would rather be than with you just like this. This is my dream come true.”

Kara wrapped her arms around Lena and kissed her gently. Lena moved a hand to her cheek. She pulled back slightly, just for a moment.

“My face hurts from smiling. What are you doing to me Kara?”

“Hopefully making you half as happy as you make me.”

“I’ve never been happier in all my life. Well…maybe last night when you didn't kick me out of bed.”

Kara grabbed Lena and giggled. She kissed her nose and gave her a playful tickle. 

“Like THAT ever would have happened.”

“So…we have wine…we have a gorgeous fire and absolutely nowhere to be for two days. What to do?”

“Can I suggest something kind of dorky…I mean considering what we did last night?”

“Of course.”

“Would you like to dance?”

Lena beamed. 

“Of course. It’s not dorky at all. I love dancing with you.”

Lena sat up and gave Kara a little kiss on the lips. She walked over to her stereo and chose a song. Romantic music began to play. She held her hand out to Kara who moved to her happily. Kara wrapped her arms around Lena tight and kissed her with passionate fervor. 

Lena wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck. 

“I thought we were going to dance”, Lena said playfully. 

Kara pulled back and wrapped her arms around Lena’s waist respectfully. 

“Yes Ma'am”, Kara said grinning. 

Lena grabbed Kara’s shirt and kissed her back just as fiery as Kara had kissed her. Maybe it was the romantic song or maybe it was the sparkle in Kara’s eyes but Lena couldn’t resist suggesting something she had been dreaming about. 

“There’s something I want…”, Lena whispered into Kara’s ear.

Kara pressed her lips to Lena’s ear.

“Anything”, Kara said softly. 

Lena pulled away and put a hand out to the hero who had stolen her heart. She motioned to the couch. 

“Take a seat, drink some wine and I’ll be back in five minutes.”

Kara stood there smiling but very confused. 

“Okay.”

Lena kissed Kara’s hand. She pressed her lips softly and lovingly to each of her fingers before she made her way into the other room. 

Kara walked over to couch and took a seat in front of the fire. She grabbed the glass of wine and took a sip. Kara looked all around the living room and she noticed there were no pictures anywhere. She had been there dozens of times but she never really noticed the lack of personal connection. Lena was so warm and loving but the living room seemed a bit cold and sterile. 

Kara could understand why she wouldn’t have a bunch of pictures of her family. There were painful memories connected to them all but Kara couldn’t help but wonder if it was possible that Lionel Luthor was still alive. Lena loved her father despite his great deception. If Lionel was alive, it would be the greatest deception Kara could possibly imagine. For the briefest second she allowed her heart to hurt for Lena but she knew Lena would deal with this when she was ready. She wouldn’t force her.

Lena returned to the living room wearing just a robe and an alluring smile. 

“Bring the wine”, Lena said waving Kara her way. 

Kara grabbed the glasses. Her heart raced, her pulse quickened. Seeing Lena in just a robe drove Kara wild.

Lena led Kara down the long hallway, through the master bedroom and into the master bath. The bathroom was marble, fogged glass and steel. There was a large sunken tub filled with steaming water and bubbles. Candles were lit and romantic music played softly in the background. 

Kara stood there with the two glasses of wine completely speechless. Lena gave her that signature Lena grin and Kara’s knees went weak. 

“Have I told you how much I love you?”, Kara asked.

Lena walked over and took the glasses of wine from Kara. She placed them on the edge of the tub and turned back to Kara with a plan in her eyes. 

“Lena…I…”, Kara started.

Lena put a finger to Kara’s lips. She moved the finger down Kara’s body until she reached the bottom of her sweater. She moved her other hand to the bottom of the sweater and pulled it up and over Kara’s head. She tossed the sweater onto the floor. 

Kara let out a little moan and smiled nervously. She felt like a dork. Lena moved a hand to the top button on Kara’s shirt. She unbuttoned it slowly. She moved her way down and unbuttoned each button with care while she maintained very sensual eye contact. 

She went to open Kara’s shirt. Kara growled and ripped the shirt off exposing her tan flesh and her bra. Lena let out a shocked laugh. Kara pulled Lena close. 

“Tsk Tsk…not yet”, Lena said with an authoritative tone.

Kara stepped back and allowed Lena to continue to undress her with maddening precision and care. 

When Lena was done Kara stood there completely nude and shaking with desire. Lena kneeled before Kara. She kissed her stomach and let her hands linger upon Kara’s skin. 

Kara reached down and pulled Lena to her feet.

Lena went to untie the belt around her robe. Kara stepped forward and put her hand on Lena’s hands. 

“Tsk Tsk Lena”, Kara said with a playful wink. 

Lena moved her hands to Kara’s shoulders and ran her fingertips along her neck and her shoulders. Kara pulled Lena’s belt off and threw it to the ground. She grabbed the robe and pulled it down slowly…first exposing Lena’s shoulders, then her breasts, then her beautiful tight stomach. When the robe dropped to the ground Lena smiled and motioned to the steaming tub. 

Kara sat on the side of the tub and slipped in slowly. The water was hot and made her skin tingle almost as much as the sight of Lena’s striking beauty. Lena sat on the side of the tub and slipped in slowly as well. Candle light flickered and the soft music continued to played. Everything was perfect. 

Kara laid back in the tub and motioned for Lena to come closer. Lena laid on top of her, wrapping her arms and legs around Kara’s body. She kissed her with a desire she had never known before. Lena curled up in Kara’s arms and closed her eyes. 

“Every time I take a bath I think about you. I’ve always dreamed of having you here with me.

“How does it feel?”

“Like I’m finally home.”

***

Lena stood in the bedroom, now lit by the candles from the bathroom. The light flickered upon her flesh. Her skin was still warm from the bath. She motioned to Kara to come to her. Kara felt a chill run down her spine but it wasn’t from the chill in the air…it was excitement. Kara gave Lena a cute little smirk and ran to her. Lena didn’t know why but when she saw Kara run towards her, she giggled and ran around the bed and over it. Kara chased her and giggled with her. Lena landed on the bed and Kara leapt on top of her on all fours, playfully pinning her captured love. She leaned down and kissed Lena’s lips gently and smiled.

Lena caressed Kara’s cheek.

“Do you know what I love about you?”, Lena asked.

“No…tell me”, Kara said happily.

“Well, a million little things…but you’re the the literal girl of steel. You’re stronger than anyone on the planet…Clark agrees…but when you’re with me…you’re so gentle, so loving. I have never felt safer with anyone in all my life.”

Kara laid down on top of Lena, their warm bodies pressed together. She looked down into Lena’s beautiful green eyes and her heart felt too full. 

“I’m so glad you feel safe with me. When you were angry with Supergirl it broke my heart. I only ever wanted you to feel safe and protected.”

“But that’s just it. It was you Kara…it was you that made me feel safe. It doesn’t take a cape or fancy spandex suit to make me feel safe. It was you…always being there…always at my side. That’s what made me feel safe and it still does.”

“Lena, you’re precious to me. You are the strongest, most brilliant woman I’ve ever known and I know that you can protect yourself…I’ve seen it but when I see you…all I want to do is keep you safe. You are my world. You, Alex, now Ruby and Sam…you’re why I get up in the morning and do what I do. You’re why I fall asleep at night and dream peacefully.”

Lena grabbed Kara’s face with her hands and pulled her down into a very long and passionate kiss. Lena rolled Kara over and continued to kiss her as she ran just a fingertip over Kara’s smooth flesh. Kara shook with desire. Her nerves started to fire off one by one. 

Lena straddled Kara and pressed herself against Kara. Kara bucked with excitement. Lena reached back and spread Kara’s legs. She began to move down slowly kissing every inch of Kara’s body from her neck, to her breasts, to that little stomach that loved potstickers so much. Lena kissed her stomach and looked up at her.

“How do you stay so beautiful eating all of those potstickers?”, Lena asked. 

Kara laughed. 

“It’s all the flying. Keeps me trim.”

Lena rested her chin on Kara’s stomach. 

“I love you so much Kara.”

Kara looked down at Lena and smiled. 

“I love you too baby. I love you so much.”

“I don’t know if I deserve to be this happy”, Lena said with a little melancholy in her tone.

“You do. You deserve all the happiness in the world.”

Kara grabbed Lena and lifted her above her effortlessly. Lena floated above Kara and it was like some wonderful dream. Kara lowered Lena down on top of her and rolled her over. 

“Now I’m going to do my best to bring you a little more happiness. Kara moved down Lena’s body and gave her a smile. Lena grabbed Kara’s shoulder hard and shook wildly with excitement.

***

**_She ___** __closed the laptop hard. She couldn’t watch anymore of this. She picked up the knife from the table and threw it across to the room at the wall. It hit dead center._ _

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_**She was deadly. __**_


	3. Passion and Pancakes

Lena laid awake with Kara resting in her arms. She kissed her head and gently caressed her back. She didn’t want to wake her. Kara stirred for just a moment and rolled over in the opposite direction to the edge of the bed. Lena got up from bed carefully, trying not to disturb her slumbering super hero. She took a moment to watch Kara sleep. 

_God, she’s so beautiful. ___

__

__Suddenly Kara cried out._ _

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____

“Lena!”

Lena froze. 

“Don’t forget to get toilet paper and cupcakes.”

Lena had to stifle her laughter. 

Kara was sleep talking. She wasn’t quite sure what kind of shopping list she was dreaming about but somehow it made her love Kara even more. 

Lena put on her robe and made her way through the apartment quietly. She grabbed her purse and held it close to her for just a moment. She unzipped it and pulled out the package. She sat down on the couch. The fire was completely out and the house was cold, especially without Kara to keep her warm. 

She needed to do this alone. 

Lena surveyed the outside of the package. Nothing distinctive. Just a plan yellow envelope you could find in any office. She wanted to read the letter but she also knew that was a rabbit hole she wasn’t ready to go down. If she wanted to pull the fingerprints off of these things she would need to read everything and that just wasn’t her priority. 

Her real fear was that Kara would see something in that letter or in that package that would change her view of Lena or would make her hate Lena. Lena was terrified of losing Kara and she would rather never know what the package contained than risk that. 

Lena stood up and made her way to the other side of the apartment. She had a small office where she would do a little work when she couldn’t sleep or when her office was being put back together after some disastrous encounter with Lillian or some alien attack. 

She walked over to a seemingly blank wall and placed her hand on it. The wall opened up a secret door that contained a small safe. The technology was the same as her lab at L-Corp.

She placed her fingerprint on a keypad and lined up her eye in front of a retinal scanner. Lena took security very seriously. She opened the safe and placed the package inside. She stopped for a moment to consider her options. She let out a deep sigh and closed the safe. 

With everything locked up tight, she knew she could rest. She walked back towards the bedroom and was surprised to find Kara standing in the hallway buck naked and smiling.

“Can’t sleep?”, Kara asked.

“I put the package in the safe.”

“Did you read the letter or check out the package itself?”

“Nope.”

“So, you’re content not knowing?”

“I’m content with everything I have right here.”

Lena walked to Kara and wrapped her arms around her. Lena caressed Kara’s sleep tossed hair and nuzzled her face in Kara’s neck. 

“Me too”, Kara said sleepily. 

“So…I have a question for you”, Lena said with a smile.

“What’s up?”

“Did you dream about me going to the store and buying toilet paper and cupcakes?”

Kara looked totally confused. 

Lena kissed her cheek and grabbed her hand. 

“Come on my love. Let’s get back to bed.”

***

Lena awoke to an intense feeling coursing through her entire body. She opened her eyes and lifted the blanket. She saw Kara between her legs. Kara lifted her head slightly and smiled. Lena moved a hand to Kara’s head. A warmth spread over her body and every nerve tingled. She bucked wildly as Kara showed her real super power. Lena grabbed the sheet and gripped it so hard her hands went numb. Kara had an insatiable desire to please Lena. Lena screamed out and fell backwards. Beads of sweat glistened on her forehead. 

Lena grabbed Kara and pulled her up. Kara kissed Lena’s body all the way up. Lena gave Kara a very appreciative smile. 

“My God Kara…I could get used to waking up like that.”

“I thought I would give you a little taste of the happiness you gave me the other night.”

Lena growled ferociously and kissed Kara. She pressed her fingers firmly into Kara’s flesh. 

Lena flipped Kara over and drove her tongue deep into Kara’s mouth. Kara kissed Lena back and held on to her for dear life. 

Lena pulled away and moved down Kara’s body. Kara looked around to make sure there was nothing she could break. She smiled when she realized Lena had a solid steel bed frame. Lena put a hand on Kara’s chest and smiled. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll happily replace everything you break.”

Kara smiled as Lena moved her way down below the blankets. Kara’s back arched and she squealed. She lifted the blanket and smiled at Lena. 

“What are you doing? Oh my God.”

Kara fell back and let the warmth course through her. 

***

Kara and Lena made love for hours. They were absolutely insatiable. When they were almost dead with exhaustion, completely dehydrated and starving they decided to put on their pajamas and seek out water and sustenance. 

Lena had absolutely no food in the house since she was traveling. Kara made a quick trip to the market and brought back all the fixings for blueberry pancakes. 

They made a big batch of the batter and waited as the skillet warmed up. Kara lifted Lena effortlessly on top of the counter. Lena put her hands on Kara’s shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. Kara stepped forward and put a hand on Lena’s chest. Lena moved her hand to Kara’s neck and gently scratched the base just at her hairline. She had figured out Kara liked that the night before. 

“I love it when you pick me up. It turns me on”, Lena said pulling Kara in for a kiss. 

Kara leaned back and smiled. 

“At this rate we will starve to death and I am totally fine with that.”

Lena’s phone began to ring. They both looked behind them. 

“Do you need me to grab it?”, Kara asked. 

“Nope. Whatever it is can wait. This day is ours. We can rejoin the real world tomorrow.”

***

Kara and Lena sat very close together eating their breakfast and sharing kisses in between. Lena climbed onto Kara’s lap, wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed her fervently. 

She pulled back and smiled.

“Your kisses taste like maple syrup”, Lena said licking her lips. “Can we just stay here forever?”

“I’m in if your are.”

“It’s strange. I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth but it’s been really quiet in National City for the last couple of days”, Kara said,

“I suppose it has been. I am so happy you haven’t had to leave me. How do you know when there’s a problem?”

“I can hear a lot. Do you remember that night I came to you when you were crying?”

“I do.”

“I heard you. I was missing you so bad and when I closed my eyes and concentrated on you I could hear you.”

“God, that’s amazing.”

“Alex also lets me know when things are going down but this has been like a vacation…a welcome respite from the reality and chaos of our lives. 

Lena rested her head against Kara’s chest.

“I feel lucky to have this time with you.”

“I’m the lucky one.”

***

**_She ___** _ _stood in front of a clothing rack and flipped through all of the dresses. She never wore dresses. She hated dresses. They weren’t practical. They were for spoiled women who didn’t have to work for a living and there was nowhere to keep her weapons._ _

__Up close photos of Lena’s hands, Lena’s hair and Lena’s makeup sat on the rusty table. She walked over to the table and put a hand out to compare with the picture with lena’s hand._ _

__It’s almost perfect._ _

**_She ___** _ _opened the laptop again and continued to study._ _

**_She ___** _ _grabbed scissors and started to trim her hair._ _

**_She ___** _ _was learning._ _


	4. The Calm

Kara and Lena curled up in front of another beautiful laser-vision-lit fire. Lena sat nestled on top of Kara and they cuddled under a big fluffy blanket. They were completely content to watch the flames dance as they held each other close. Lena rested her head on Kara’s shoulder and kissed her neck. Kara let out a deep sigh. 

“Are you okay Kara?”

“Yeah…just hating the thought of having to return to reality tomorrow. Back to CatCo and L-Corp for us. I hate Mondays. My heart is so calm and centered when I’m with you. I wish you worked at CatCo so I could just stare at you all day.”

“We would get nothing done”, Lena said with a chuckle. “But I feel exactly the same way my beautiful girl.”

“I do feel like I should check my cell and see if Alex has called. It’s been so quiet. I hope she isn’t trying to handle everything on her own.”

“I guess I should probably see who called earlier. I just don’t want to let you go. Not for a second.”

Kara kissed Lena’s nose and gave a big grin. She picked Lena up in her arms and walked across the room to where Lena’s purse was perched atop a pile of magazines. Lena grabbed her cell out of the bag and gave Kara a kiss on her cheek.

“God, I love that you can pick me up and carry me around. It’s so hot.”

Kara gave Lena a little smile and kissed her lips softly.

“Always happy to be of service ma'am”, Kara said playfully. 

Kara walked over to where her cell was sitting. Lena picked it up for her and they returned to their original position on the couch. Lena kissed Kara’s cheeks repeatedly. 

“I love you my big strong problem solver.”

They sat back and pulled the blanket back over them. 

Kara looked at her phone, “I have voicemails”, she said disappointed

“Me too”, Lena said equally disappointed. 

“Is it too much to hope they’re spam calls?”, Kara asked with a little smile. 

They both picked up their respective phones and listened to their voicemails. 

Lena looked confused as she listened. She ended the call and set the phone down on her lap. When Kara finished she saw Lena had a strange look on her face.

“Lena? Are you okay?”, Kara asked concerned.

“Yeah…it was my dry cleaner. He said he was prepping the orders for tomorrow morning and he misplaced all of my clothes.”

“Misplaced?”

“Yeah. He said he looked everywhere but my clothes are just gone.”

“That’s really strange.”

“I have plenty of clothes but talk about poor customer service. How do you lose ten dresses?”

“Please tell me that your emerald green dress wasn’t one of them.”

Lena gave Kara a smile and caressed her cheek.

“Nope. That one is hanging in my closet right now.”

“Good. I would have been very upset with that dry cleaner if that dress was lost.”

Lena gave Kara a sweet nuzzle. 

“I love how much you love that dress.”

“It’s not the dress. It’s the way it makes your eyes sparkle.”

Lena grabbed Kara and kissed her with a tireless hunger. She pulled back for a moment and looked at Kara. 

“Hey…I never asked who called you? Is National City being attacked by crazy cyborgs?”

“Nope. My landlord called to say my apartment will be ready tomorrow morning and the other voicemail was from Alex but no big disaster. She said she knew we were probably “nesting” but they wanted to know if we wanted to have dinner and drinks at the Hilltop. They dropped Ruby off at her friend’s house for the night and they miss us.”

“Really? You know…it might not be bad to get some fresh air.”

“And we do need to eat.”

“I’ll hop in the shower. You call her back and tell her we can be there in an hour. Sound good?”

Lena tried to get up and Kara grabbed onto her.

“OR…How about I text her, WE shower and I’ll tell her we will meet them in an hour and a half?”

Lena leapt off Kara and put her hand out. 

“Deal.”

Kara sent Alex a quick text. Lena stood in front of her with the most beautiful smile. Kara got up and took Lena’s hand. She picked her up in her arms and carried her down the hall and into the bedroom. 

***

When Kara and Lena arrived at the restaurant, they had the unmistakable glow of two women madly in love. They were both giddy from the excitement of their new romance. Sam and Alex greeted them warmly and they all sat down at the table with the breathtaking view overlooking the whole National City skyline. 

“I ordered us some champagne. I thought we might want to celebrate the fact that for once in our lives the Danver’s girls have love at the same time”, Alex said with a grin. 

The waiter brought over the champagne and poured four glasses. 

Sam cleared her throat.

“I would like to propose a toast…to broken bed posts!”

They all went to touch glasses and started laughing. 

“No…seriously…to our best friends and our family. We are so glad that you found your way to each other. We love you two.”

They all touched glasses. 

Kara grinned and straightened her glasses. Lena wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek.

“To true love”, Kara said beaming. 

“To true love”, they all echoed in unison as their glasses clinked.

***

A couple hours passed quickly. Sam and Alex regaled them with the beautifully mundane stories of their trip to the park and their outing to the farmers market. It was a strange feeling just to be normal people. They weren’t fighting aliens or escaped criminals with guns. They were just four women, madly in love and completely content chatting over a shared dessert. 

“So…how was your weekend?”, Sam asked suggestively.

Kara and Lena both blushed. 

“Good…really really good”, Lena said back with a sly smile. 

“We were glad you called. If we didn’t get out soon we were never going to leave”, Kara said happily. 

“Yeah seriously…my legs went numb from lack of use”, Lena said not realizing how suggestive her comment was. Alex and Sam chuckled. “Because…she was carrying me around you perverts”, Lena said blushing and laughing along with them. 

Sam grabbed Alex’s hand and gave her a flirtatious smile. 

“Oh…I remember that feeling like it was yesterday.”

“It was yesterday”, Alex said playfully. 

Lena let out a little sigh. Kara knew Lena. She knew what all of her sighs meant. This one was different.

“Lena…are you okay?”

“Yeah…I just…Alex…do you mind if we take a walk?”

Everyone at the table looked surprised. Alex and Lena were always cordial to each other but they were never very close on their own. They had both Sam and Kara in common but Alex had her doubts about Lena for years and that created a wall between them for a long time. Alex’s opinion had changed considerably as she watched the brilliant woman help Sam but her heart was really warmed seeing how happy she made Kara. 

“Of course. Let’s take a walk. Sam…Kar…I’ll take a cappuccino if that waiter ever comes back.”

Alex leaned down and gave Sam a kiss on the head. Lena gave Kara a sweet kiss on the lips. 

Sam moved to the other side of the table so she could sit next to Kara. She moved close and they watched Lena and Alex walk away from the restaurant. 

“What do you suppose that’s all about?”, Sam asked. 

“I don’t know. Lena almost seemed nervous.”

***

Alex and Lena walked around the grounds of the Hilltop restaurant. The lights of the city sparkled. 

“Is everything okay Lena? Is this about the letter?”

“Nope. I decided not to give it a thought…at least not for now. I am sure it is just some elaborate way for Lillian to hurt me again. I’m tired of it.”

“Really? Are you going to fingerprint the package?”

“I may. I just want to enjoy this time with Kara.”

“That totally makes sense. So…what’s up?”

“Kara told me about when you and Sam reconnected. I mean…she told me that you bought a ring even before you knew she loved you.”

Alex blushed. 

“You probably think I was crazy. I mean most people would but when you know…you just know.”

“I did. I thought you were crazy but I loved it anyway. You knew.”

“I did. I always knew. From the moment I met Sam and Ruby, I felt connected to them in a way I can’t explain.”

“Alex, you know I love your sister…right?”

“Of course. I can see it in your eyes and Kara is head over heels in love with you. Who would of thought…Kara in love with a Luthor. I mean you’re the best Luthor of course…”, Alex said with a playful smile. 

“I love her so much my heart hurts and yet it feels incredible at the same time. Does that make any sense?”

“Before Sam…no but now it makes complete sense to me.”

“If I…if I allowed myself to be a little insane…would you support me? I mean…do you think she would throw me off a building?”

“Are you saying you want to be crazy like me?”

“I do. When you know…you just know. I am a better woman with her by my side.”

“Wow!”, Alex said wrapping her arms around Lena. 

“Does this mean I have your blessing?”, Lena asked.

Alex pulled back and smiled.

“Of course you do!” 

“I’ve never been happier Alex. I have been holding onto her so tight. I’ve just been so overwhelmed by the feeling. I thought you were crazy at first but I think the thing we both have in common is that we have known we were in love for a long time. We know these women. It doesn’t take a relationship status change for me to know that I want to wake up next to Kara every morning and fall asleep next to her every night sharing the same pillow. 

“I couldn’t have said it better. Well…you definitely have my blessing. Can I ask…when you’re going to do it?”

“I’ll do it when the time is right. Just knowing…just knowing you don’t think I’m crazy makes me feel like I can really do this.”

“Trust me, I know what it is like to be crazy in love. Sam and Ruby are my world. I would die for them. I get it.”

Alex and Lena walked back towards the restaurant smiling. Kara and Sam watched them through the window. They looked happy to be spending time together. 

Alex’s cell rang. Alex picked it up and mouthed an apology to Lena. 

“Hey Vasquez…yeah…okay…hang tight. I will.”

Alex turned to Lena. 

“There’s an emergency at the DEO. Containment failed on some of the cells. I’m going to have to borrow Kara.”

“No problem but please bring her back safe. Is there anything I can do?”

“No…but thank you. Hey…I think she would like a princess cut. She said that to me once.”

“Thanks”, Lena said with a grin. 

“Take care and be careful.”

“You know we will.”

***  
**_She ___** _ _slinked her way through Alex and Sam’s house placing the devices in strategic places. She had to take more care than she did at Kara’s apartment. Kara’s place was easy. With all of the workers trying to replace the plumbing, she was able to throw on some coveralls and a hat and make entry into Kara’s apartment during the day. She was able to take her time. Everything had to be perfect. She wanted her to see all of the destruction she was about to cause.__

____

__

***  
The elevator doors opened and Alex stepped into chaos. DEO agents were running around arming themselves and trying to figure out what their orders were. Kara landed on the balcony, her blonde locks blowing in the breeze. 

She walked in and joined Alex. Agent Vasquez walked over looking pale and exhausted already. 

“What’s the situation?”

“We’ve lost containment in the holding cells. We were able to lock everything down but we are going to need to get them subdued before they break through.”

“Who’s out?”

“Everyone. Everyone is loose.”

Alex looked at Kara. 

“Supergirl…I think this is going to be a very long night.”

***

It was close to 1 am when Kara and Alex got back to Sam and Alex’s place. Kara and Alex felt better when they saw a text from Sam letting them know that she and Lena were heading back to the house for some wine and binge watching.

When Alex opened the door, both Lena and Sam were waiting for them with open arms. Sam and Lena had spent most of the evening discussing the difficulties of watching the women they loved constantly running into battle. When they saw Alex and Kara they were both overwhelmed. Sam greeted Alex with her signature spider monkey hug and mini make-out session and Lena moved quickly to Kara and placed her hands on her face. She kissed her long and deep and held onto her so tight Kara could barely breathe.

Kara pulled back and gave Lena a smile. 

“Are you okay?”

“I am now.”

Kara and Lena said goodnight and returned to Lena’s apartment. The real world had beckoned but all they wanted was to retreat back to their little piece of heaven.

They turned off the lights and locked everything up for the night. Kara took Lena’s hand and guided her into the bedroom. There was a chill in the air but all they wanted was to be close to each other. 

Kara took off her glasses and let down her hair. She shook her hair out and Lena smiled. 

“I still can’t believe your mine. You are so beautiful.”

“Every part of me is yours”, Kara said sweetly.

They undressed each other slowly, appreciating the dance of going back and forth. Kara removed Lena’s shoes, She pulled her dress up above her head to reveal only her bra and panties. Lena pulled off Kara’s sweater and mercifully unbuttoned Kara’s shirt quickly. They took care with each other. That was their relationship in a nutshell. Their care and love for each other trumped everything. 

Once they they had removed all their clothes they moved to the bed. The sheets were cool. Kara laid Lena down and smiled. Lena put a hand out to Kara. 

“I still can’t believe this is real”, Kara said. 

Lena pulled Kara down on top of her and let her hands explore Kara’s smooth skin. Kara moved down and placed her ear over Lena’s heart and rested her head on her chest. She listened and smiled peacefully. Lena pulled the blankets over them and they fell asleep wrapped together, completely content just to be together. 

***

**_She ___** __watched Kara and Lena. She had to step away. It was too much._ _

____

____

_I am going to take everything she loves. Everything._

____

____

**_She ___** __walked over to the clothing rack and grabbed a black dress. She pulled it off the hanger and tossed the hanger into the corner. The hanger had a little cover that read “Jack’s Cleaners.” She held up the dress and looked at the lines and the shape._ _

____

____

_This will do. ___

____

____

**_She ___** __walked over to the rusty table, now covered in plastic. She laid down the dress and smoothed it out flat. She stood for a moment and surveyed it. She reached for a pair of scissors and started to cut the fabric. A sewing machine sat off to the side._ _

____

____

**_She ___** __was almost ready._ _

____

____

***

Lena popped awake with a start. Her body was covered in sweat and she was dazed from the startling nightmare. She couldn’t remember everything but she knew Kara was falling and she couldn’t catch her. Kara had rolled to the other side of the bed and away from her. Lena grabbed onto her from behind and held on. She was shaking a little. Kara stirred and turned around.

“Are you okay Lena?”

“I’m sorry I woke you.”

Kara moved a hand to Lena’s face. 

“Don’t be sorry my love. What’s wrong?”

“Just a bad dream. I think I’m so happy…I’m just terrified that I’ll lose this feeling.”

“Lena, you will never lose me.” 

Lena pulled Kara close and kissed her. 

“I love you so much Kara.”

“I love you too…my heart.”

Lena turned around and pulled Kara’s arm over her so she was holding Lena from behind. 

“I’m going to fingerprint the letter and the package tomorrow.” 

“Are you worried?.” 

“I just want to make sure there’s nothing to worry about.” 

“I love you Lena. Anything that package contains we will handle together.” 

“Listen…I know your apartment will be ready tomorrow but…well…do you want to stay a little longer? I’ll make you dinner tomorrow after work and I can do that thing you like so much.”

Kara pulled Lena close and rested her chin on her shoulder. 

“I would love to stay. With an invitation like that…how could I say no?”

They closed their eyes and fell back into a peaceful slumber, completely content and completely ignorant to what was coming next.


	5. Paint It Black

_**She**_ walked over to the stereo and chose a song…a fitting soundtrack to the destruction she was about to rain down on Lena Luthor’s life. “Paint it Black” played loudly through the dingy basement. She turned up the volume.

_No one can hear the music. No one will hear her._

_**She**_ picked up the knife and walked calmly to her stalker board. She started to stab and cut and slash the pictures. She stabbed so aggressively she cut herself. Soon the wall was covered in shredded pictures of Lena Luthor’s life and the blood of the woman who would do anything to destroy her happiness.

***

“This hurts”, Kara said kissing Lena goodbye. 

“Let me drop you off at CatCo.”

“It would probably not look great to have the owner of the magazine drop me off. Besides…you know if James finds out he will be crushed.”

“James and I broke up because he knew I was in love with you. He told me he never saw me light up with him the way I do with you. This will come as no great surprise.”

Kara wrapped her arms around Lena tight…careful not to go Supergirl tight on her.

Kara moved a hand to Lena’s cheek and looked deep into her eyes. She gave her the sweetest smile and Lena was once again was overwhelmed by her love for the beautiful hero. 

“Lena…thank you.”

“For what?”

“For loving me the way you do.”

“Thank you Kara.”

“For what?”

“Making me a better person.”

Kara looked down at Lena’s purse and saw the envelope.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay today? I can be there with you.”

“I’ll be fine. Whatever it is…I need to know but you need to get back to CatCo and be my brilliant reporter.”

“Just say the word and I will be there. I love you so much.”

“I love you back Kar. Yikes...that sounds weird. Too much like Alex.”

”I like when you call me your “Super” a lot more.”

Lena kissed Kara’s nose sweetly. 

“So, I’ll stop by my apartment tonight and make sure everything is in one piece and then I’ll come by.”

“Perfect. I’ll make you a meal fit for a Super.”

Kara grabbed Lena and kissed her for as long as she could. They were out of breath by the time they finally let go.

“Okay…I can’t say goodbye just yet. I’ll take that ride.”

Lena smiled and gave Kara a quick peck on the cheek. They walked to Lena’s car and in true Lena fashion, she opened the door for Kara. 

Kara grabbed Lena’s face and gave her a kiss.

“How are you so adorable?”

Lena grinned and made her way around to the driver’s seat. 

A few short minutes later, Lena pulled up a block away from the CatCo entrance. It might not fool anyone but Kara was trying to maintain some decorum. That was made a little more difficult when Lena attacked her with a fifteen minute make out session.

When Lena finally let go of Kara, they were out of breath, their hair was a complete mess and Kara wore more of Lena’s lipstick than Lena did. They cleaned themselves up the best they could and just stared into each other's eyes for a few minutes more. Lena took Kara’s hand and kissed it softly.

“See you tonight my love.”

“See you tonight beautiful.”

Kara got out of the car and straightened her dress. Lena watched as she walked away and strongly considered grabbing her, throwing her back in the car and spending the rest of their lives in her bed.

As Kara stepped into the CatCo building, Lena knew that she needed to stop her daydreaming and head to work. She had to get answers.

***

When Lena arrived at L-Corp she did the same thing she did every workday…she walked through and gave a few people a nod but she was laser focused on the task at hand. Today she was focused on pulling Lillian’s fingerprints off the package. 

A part of her was a little worried.

_What if this isn't Lillian? It has to be._

Sam waited for Lena outside her locked office door with a big goofy smile. Lena pulled out her keys and opened the door. 

“Morning Boss.”

“Morning Sam. How was your evening?”

“I was just about to ask you the same thing”, Sam said with a playful tone. 

“I swear…letting go of her this morning was the hardest thing I’ve had to do in well…ever.”

“I remember that feeling vividly. Remember how you kept sending me home because I was so useless? I couldn’t stop daydreaming about Alex. Thanks for not firing me.”

Lena opened the door and they walked inside. She tossed her coat on the couch and carried her purse to the desk 

“Oh please”, Lena said. “You are irreplaceable. You’re as much a cornerstone to this company as I am. We run this place together. I know you still daydream but you have become so much better at hiding it.”

Sam gave Lena a little chuckle.

Lena and Sam both sat down. Sam leaned in and smiled. 

“So…Alex and I were placing bets on how long it will take you two to say screw it and leave sick for the rest of the day.”

“God…I wish…but I have things to do”, Lena said looking at her purse. 

“Rubes is home sick today. Alex was so sweet and took some time to stay with her. She was so exhausted last night when they got home. She just passed out. I felt bad. Her and Kara were out so late.”

“Sam…go home.”

“Lena…I’m here. I’m good.”

“Nope…I’m good. We can man the shop for one day without our Captain.”

“Oh come on. You’re the Captain.”

“Nope. I’m but a mere deckhand to your leadership.”

They both laughed. 

“Nothing crazy is going on right now. The new window defense prototype is coming along smoothly and we don’t meet with the team until Friday. Go home…let Alex get some rest and be with Ruby.”

“Are you sure? You sure there’s nothing you need from me?”

“Nope. Go or I’ll fire you for the day.”

“Love you boss.”

“Get out of here.”

Sam stood up and gave Lena a smile.

“Thanks Lena.”

Sam walked out of her office and Lena knew it was time to get started. She decided to do a few things first before she headed down to the lab. 

_I’ll check some emails and then I’ll do this._

***

Kara sat down at her desk and rubbed her neck. She had fallen asleep on Lena’s chest and her neck was all out of whack. She didn't care. It was heaven and she would do it all over again. A hand floated above her holding a coffee cup and she new it was Nia. 

“Good Morning Blondie.”

Kara gave her a surprised smile. 

“Blondie?”

“I tried it…not quite right. I promise I will give you a nickname that’ll work. Just give me time.”

“You have all the time in the world goofball. So…how was your weekend?  Get up to anything interesting?”

“Nope. We sat and binge watched reality TV. Brainy is fascinated by earthling flaws and they are in ample supply on reality TV. How about you? Did you see Ms. Luthor?”

“I did. We had the most wonderful weekend. It was horrible waking up this morning and realizing that it was over but she’s making me dinner tonight.”

“Can she cook?”

“God, I have no idea.”

They both shared a laugh.

“I don’t know how I’m going to get through this day Nia.”

“Coffee, work and stare at pictures of her all day.”

“I like it.”

***

Lena spent most of the day trying to avoid doing what needed to be done. She responded to emails, checked on Sam’s team to make sure they had everything they needed, reviewed the specs for the new window defense prototype and made some calls that totally could have waited.

After she ate a leisurely lunch she had no more excuses. She grabbed the envelope and headed to her private lab. She could have had one of the L-Corp techs fingerprint the package but she had no idea what personal information the package contained.

She walked into the lab, locked the door and opened the envelope. She pulled out all of the contents. There was the slightly crumpled 10 page letter that was stapled in the corner and about 40 pages of other documents. It was time to read the letter. 

_This is all a hoax. This is Lillian. Stay calm Lena._

Lena pulled up a chair and smoothed the letter out carefully. She remembered her father’s handwriting. It was close…really close. 

 _Lena, my perfect daughter, I have a terrible secret about you I must confess. Before I explain, please know that your mother and I love you very much and we are so proud of the woman you have become. You are everything we hoped for and more. I hope you understand that everything we did, we did because we love you and you are our heart._  

_I suppose I should start at the beginning._

_Shortly after I married Lillian, I met a woman who changed my life forever. She was so kind, so beautiful and where Lillian spread nothing but darkness and doubt wherever she went, Aoife, brought nothing but light and joy._ _Aoife and I fell in love the moment we met. Her love of nature and the outdoors fascinated me. I’ve always been a scientist and a researcher. I have always been content cooped up in a stuffy lab._ _Aoife loved to walk through fields of flowers and swim in the lake. She had the most disarming smile and she was pure kindness. I adored every single thing about her._

 _I’m not proud of the fact that I cheated on Lillian but she was cold and cunning and she manipulated every situation she found herself in. It was hard being married to her._ _I left Lillian for a short time and stayed with Aoife in Ireland under the guise of business. Aoife was from a good Irish family…the Kieran family._

_Aoife got pregnant after we were together a short time. We were both thrilled. I knew that if that baby had Aoife as a mother, she would be perfect._

_Lena…I need you to brace yourself and understand that you are the most wonderful daughter and we couldn’t love you more. What you are about to read may shock you but please understand…you are a Luthor and you always will be._

_Aoife gave birth to our daughter, Mara Rose._

_Mara caught a fever when she was only a few months old and she almost died. I went a little insane with worry when she was sick and I did something that would change the course of all of our lives forever._

_I cloned Mara. I wanted Mara to have every opportunity to survive and I believed in my heart that cloning her was the best way to ensure her survival. I figured if she needed anything, a clone would be able to help her._

_Lena, you’re the clone I created._

_If I could have avoided telling you this I would…but I have no choice. You will never understand why we did what we did with only half of the information._

Lena felt faint. She read the line over and over hoping for a different outcome. She felt her breakfast coming back up. She pulled the trash can over and dry heaved. She broke out in a cold sweat and her body started to stiffen. She knew she was going into shock. She didn’t want to read anymore but she knew she had to go on. She couldn’t stop here.

_Around this time Lillian went mad with jealousy. I was her husband and she wasn’t about to let me go. She told me that she would murder us all if I didn’t leave Aoife and I believed her._

_When you were born, Aoife and I decided that you should be raised as twins. You being a clone of Mara, we assumed you would have the same temperament. We were very much mistaken.There was something so special about you when you were born. The way you smiled at me. The brightness of your eyes. YOU were my angel. You and I had a connection from the moment you came into the world and I have never loved another human being more than I love you Lena._

_Mara showed a darkness the moment she was born. She cried and screamed and scratched her way through infancy.Your mother and I were beside ourselves. You however were pure light where she was dark. You never cried. You were so sweet and such a happy baby._

_Soon, everything with Lillian came to a head and I had to go. I didn’t have a choice. She showed up in Ireland and threatened to kill us if I didn’t come with her. Aoife and I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye._

_When things with Lillian settled down, I was able to reach out to Aoife. She explained that you were thriving. You were kind and generous and loving. You were showing markers of above average intelligence and you loved nature as much as she did. I hated being away from you and I hated leaving your mother to deal with Mara._

_While you grew warmer and kinder by the day, Mara grew colder, angrier and more vindictive. She destroyed the plants in your mother’s garden, killed bugs, tortured animals and finally she turned her aggression on you._ _She started attacking you all of the time and Aoife was terrified. Everything bubbled up when Mara tried to set fire to the cottage with you and and your mother asleep inside._

_I was able to come to see you all under the guise of a business trip. I brought Lex with me. You probably don’t remember but even then, you and Lex hit it off and had a fondness for each other that was so sweet._

_Your mother begged me to help her find a solution for Mara. She was deeply disturbed and she was only getting worse. Your mother had tried a therapist but the therapist had no luck breaking through. Your mother would find crayon drawings Mara drew of you and your mother dying in various ways._

_She was scared that Mara would murder you in your sleep. Mara started calling you the mommy thief and you can imagine how that manifested itself. One night she cut you on your arm with a knife in a fit of rage and we were both done. We knew that Mara had a darkness we couldn’t cure and her obsession with your mother was deeply disturbing. She didn’t want her to go anywhere without her._

_I put Mara in the car one evening when she was asleep and took her to a home for psychologically disturbed children. I know it seems extreme but we had no choice. You were our world and we would do anything to protect you. We never thought of you as a clone. We just thought of you as the daughter we were meant to have._

_I dropped her off with them still asleep and left quietly. We believed that everything was finally the way it should be. I knew if i didn’t return home soon Lillian would come looking for us and this time she would kill us all. I had to come home._

_We believed everything was okay until a couple weeks later when your mother went to check on you and found Mara straddling you and pointing a knife to your neck. Your mother hated herself but she couldn’t let Mara hurt you. She ran to Mara and tossed her onto the floor to protect you. Mara came after your mother with the knife and tried to kill her._

_You leapt to your mother’s aide and distracted Mara so your mother could subdue her. You were so brave. Your mother didn’t know what to do. She knew as long as you and your mother were on the planet she would keep coming after you. She made a decision that disturbed me at first but I knew had to be made. She needed to protect you and she needed to get Mara away for good._

_She eventually calmed Mara down and a few days later she took you both out to the lake. She had arranged with a doctor friend of hers to help her fake her own death. The doctor was married to Mara’s therapist and Aoife confided in them both that she was fearful for your safety and her own. Mara’s jealousy was horrifying. Unfortunately, you were there and you witnessed it too. I know how much seeing her drown traumatized you and we were both so sorry._

Lena gasped for air. She couldn’t believe what she was reading. Lena nervously balled her fist. Her whole body shook. 

_I didn’t know all of the details of the plan but I sincerely doubted that her faking her death would keep Mara away. I was wrong. When she believed your mother was gone, she was eager to return to the home for disturbed children and be away from us._

_I needed to protect you and I knew getting you back home with me was the only option. Of course, Lillian hated the idea but she had no choice. You were my beautiful daughter and Lex adored you beyond words. I am sorry Lilian has been so cruel to you through the years.  I believe she is as equally as disturbed as Mara. _

_Aoife retreated to the furthest reaches and we only had contact once or twice a year. It was hard losing the love of my life but you were the love of many lifetimes. You were everything to us and we would give up everything to protect you._

_Everything seemed perfect until you were in high school and heading to college. Mara had escaped from the home and travelled across the pond to hunt you down. I only know because I caught her in your bedroom when you were at school. I knew I needed to protect you at all costs. I needed to get her away and keep her away._

_I know you are going to hate me. I have resigned myself to the fact that you will never forgive me for any of this but please know how truly sorry I am._

_I decided the best thing to do would be to take Mara somewhere far away and I knew the only way to do that and not incur Lillian’s wrath against you was to fake my death._

_I have had Mara here with me for years. It is a secure facility but she tries to break out all the time. Before she found us, she learned how to hunt and shoot and use a knife. Her hand to hand combat skills are chilling. She has been very hard to keep under control. She threatens my life every day so I don’t know how long I have. All I know is if you are reading this, I can’t help. I’m gone._

_Mara is coming for you and she will not rest until you are dead. You need to run, seek protection from your friends. Hopefully you are close enough to Supergirl for her to help you._

_Mara is equal parts insane and angry. She has always blamed you for her mother’s death and she has always thought of you as the person who stole everything from her. She was too young to understand how you came into the world but I think she always saw you as the replacement for her. Please believe me when I say how much we tried to love her but in the end, her darkness was too powerful._

_You stole nothing. Your kindness, love and spirit made us all fall in love with you. Lena, I am so proud of you._

_I am thankful that your sister doesn’t know about your mother being alive or your origin. She is already deeply disturbed. Either of these pieces of information might drive her further into madness. I’m not ashamed to admit that her madness has always terrified me._ _I wouldn’t normally have mentioned your mother’s real name in this letter but right now you need all of the protection you can get and I know in my heart that Aoife will help you._

 _Lena, I am so sorry I never told you her name before. I worried that having that information would make you a bigger target and I never wanted you to go looking for her just in case Mara was watching._ _Find her. Find your mother. Aoife Kieran. The last time we spoke, she was living in Istanbul under the name Kara O’Malley._

 _Lena, please know that we both love you very much and it pained both of us to leave you. If we had any other choice we would have taken it but it was just so much more important to make sure you survived. I pray that you stay safe and seek out protection._ _You always have and always will be my heart._

_Your Loving Father,_

_Lionel Luthor_

_P.S. I have included as much information about your sister and your mother as I could. The information on Mara should hopefully help you find a way to defeat her. Promise me you will burn this letter the minute you are done reading it. She can never know how you were brought into this world and if Mara finds your mother, she will kill her. I only pray it’s not too late. I love you._

Lena wept. She tried to stand and almost fell over. She was in shock. This was too much to take in. She tried to control her breathing and stop crying but she was at a loss. She grabbed her cell phone to call Kara. No signal. Her hands shook uncontrollably.

The revelations were too much for her to process. She was deeply disturbed by the revelation of her true origin. She was equally disturbed that her mother and father both felt it necessary to fake their deaths and abandon her to protect her from her homicidal clone-sister. The whole thing was absurd...and yet, her mother was alive. Could she really find her?

_ Her last name is Kieran. This explains so much. But how could I be a clone? I don’t feel like a clone.  _

Lena needed air. She felt like she was drowning. All she wanted to do is talk to Kara. She was terrified that Kara would be disgusted when she realized what she really was but they said they would always be honest. She had to tell her. She had to find a way.

Lena quickly flipped through the pages about Mara and her mother. It was too much. She needed to go. She threw everything into her safe and locked up her lab. She went upstairs and grabbed her things and made a hasty exit. She tried calling Kara multiple times on the way to her car but there was no answer. She finally called Alex.

“Alex?”

“Hi Lena…are you okay?”

“I need to talk to Kara”, she said with desperation in her voice.

“She had to fly to Metropolis to help Clark with something. She’ll be back before dinner…don’t worry.”

“Alex…I need her now. Please.”

“Okay…calm down. She’s out of comm range for me but I will reach out to Lois and see if she can get a hold of Clark. What’s wrong Lena. You sound like you’re crying.”

“Please Alex. Just have her call me.”

 “I will. Hold tight.”

 Lena sat in her car for a moment trying to wrap her head around it all. She knew that was hopeless and drove home quickly. She opened her apartment door and locked it behind her. She fell to the ground and started crying.

“This can’t be happening”, Lena said out loud as she buried her face in her hands. 

  _ **She**_ stepped out from the shadows.

 “Why the long face?”, _**She**_ asked.

 Lena looked up at the shadowy figure…barely able to focus through her tears.

 “Mara?”

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Skinny Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you need some background music:  
> Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/terukonf/playlist/4EdMZbg76GF3whxJv8ZXbW?si=Lg4BIuwxRSG2VvxIFAwAwA  
> ————————————————————————————————————————————————

“Clever girl”, Mara said with a maniacal laugh that chilled Lena to the bone. 

Mara kneeled down in front of Lena and pointed a small handgun at her chest.

Lena rubbed her eyes and tried to focus. The face that came into view was her own. The same nose, the same lips, the same freckle on her neck. Her eyes were different. Her left eye was bright and green like Lena’s but the right eye was gray and damaged. She wore black military style clothing. 

“I can only assume that package you received at the carnival was from our dearly departed father. I didn’t have the time to intercept it but I’m guessing you’ve been briefed on ‘Crazy Mara’.”

Lena tried to pull away from Mara but she was pressed tight against the door and couldn’t move. 

“Why are you here? What do you want?”, Lena pleaded. 

Mara leaned in closer and pressed the gun to Lena’s chest. 

“Well…I guess he didn’t share everything.”

“Please…just leave. I don’t want to fight with you.”

“Oh Lena…I’m not going anywhere. We do need to make a hasty exit. Your mettlesome superhero will probably be here any minute and we have work to do.”

Without warning, Mara raised the gun to Lena’s temple and hit her hard. 

Everything went black.

***

Alex paced back and forth in the back yard. 

“Come on Kara.”

Alex’s cell started to ring. She answered the call. 

“Kar?”

“Hey Alex…what’s up? Clark said you needed to talk.”

“Kar, it’s Lena. There’s something wrong. She called me in tears and said she needed to talk to you. I’m worried.”

“Did she say what was wrong?”, Kara asked panicked. 

“No…but she sounded upset.”

“I’ll call her right now. I’m already heading back to National City.”

“Good.”

“Thanks Alex.”

Alex disconnected the call and headed back inside the house just as Sam was coming back from spending time with Ruby.

“Hi babe”, Sam said with smile. She walked over to Alex and wrapped her arms around her neck and gave her a kiss.”

“How’s Ruby feeling?”

“She’s okay. She’s uncomfortable but it always helps her to relax and watch a movie with mom. She said she wants both of her moms for the next one.”

Alex smiled sweetly and held onto Sam tight. 

Sam could see Alex didn’t look right. 

“What’s wrong babe?”

“It’s Lena.”

“What about Lena?”, Sam asked concerned.

“There’s something wrong.”

“What are you talking about? She was fine this morning. She was great this morning. What is it?”

“I don’t know. She called in a panic looking for Kara. Kar is trying to reach her now.”

Alex’s phone began to ring again. She put it on speaker.

“Alex?”

“Yeah Kar. Did you reach Lena?”

“No. Her assistant said she left the office in a hurry and she looked upset. I tried calling her cell and there was no answer. Meet me at her place. I’ll be there 2 minutes.”

“Okay. I’m leaving right now. I’ll be right behind you.”

Alex disconnected the call and looked at Sam.

“Go babe. I’ll stay here with Ruby.”

Alex grabbed Sam and kissed her all of her love. Every time they said goodbye, even for a few minutes, they considered every moment together precious. 

“I’ll let you know as soon as we find Lena.”

“Babe, be careful. I’m worried.”

“Me too.”

***

Kara walked down the hallway towards Lena’s apartment. She would have changed her clothes if she had time but this couldn’t wait. She felt better knowing she was ready to fight if she needed to. If Lena was in trouble she would do anything to protect her. She found the extra key on top of the door ledge and opened the door. She walked in and felt a heaviness. 

_Something is definitely wrong. ___

____

There didn’t seem to be anything unusual or out of place but it still felt wrong. She called out to Lena loudly.

“Lena! Lena…where are you?”

She received no reply. Kara started to walk around and look for anything out of the ordinary. 

***

Mara had thought everything out. She had been planning for months. Long before she escaped Lionel’s secure facility, she had been considering how she could most harm Lena. 

Find what she loves and take it away.  
Find what makes her feel safe, take it away.  
Find how she survives and take it away.  
Find her life, take it away.

With Lena knocked out, Mara was able to quickly throw her onto a wheel chair and roll her down the hall, into the elevator and out of the apartment building without a single pair of eyes upon her. 

She loaded Lena and the wheel chair into an old utility van and drove her to her lair inside the old steel factory at the edge of town. They were long gone by the time Kara arrived at the apartment. 

Mara rolled her deep inside the depths of the factory to the dingy basement with the old rusty table. There were three monitors set up on the table all waiting to be brought back to life. 

Mara pushed the wheelchair right up against the table so the only thing she would see were the monitors. She tied her hands and feet to the wheel chair with zip ties. She wrapped a shock collar around her neck and locked it tight. 

_I can’t believe it’s finally time. I’ve waited for so long. ___

____

____

Mara opened her laptop and opened a document. She began to type. 

Lena stirred. She moaned a little. She had a splitting headache and her vision was even more blurred than before. She looked around the basement and panicked. 

“What is this? Where am I?”, Lena demanded. 

“Welcome to my humble abode. You will be staying here with me for a while.”

“What is this place? Why are you doing this?”

Mara pulled up a chair and flipped it around. She sat down wide-legged with the back of the chair against her chest. 

“Do you want to hear a story? Do you want to hear a sad tale about a twin who was thrown away in the garbage while the other twin lived in the lap of luxury and literally inherited the earth?”, Mara asked gritting her teeth and turning red. 

“Do you want to hear about our mother looking at me like I was a monster and refusing to touch me? Or would you rather hear about the warm fires and family dinners you shared with our parents while I rotted away scared and alone. Mother loved me. I remember that she loved me but with you around I never got enough attention. She was always so fixated on you and how wonderful you were.”

“Mara…I don’t remember any of this”, Lena said stiff and unmoved.

“Of course you don’t. Isn’t that convenient? Just claim ignorance and hope that your crazy twin won’t blow your brains out. Well…I promise that I won’t blow your brains out yet. First…I’m going to take everything in your life that matters to you and destroy it and the most exciting thing is that you are going to help me do it.”

Lena let out a little chuckle. 

“Why on earth would I do that?

“First, you will break up with Kara. Not just a breakup. You’re going to rip her heart out and stomp on it. Next, you will abandon your business to the wolves.”

“You’re delusional”, Lena said shaking her head.

“Next you will alienate all of your friends. Once you have no one and everyone suspects that you are no good…you will help Lillian Luthor escape from her high security prison.”

“Really? Sure. Yeah…that sounds great. Will I also fly around the moon and capture a unicorn? You’re more insane than I ever would have imagined.”

Mara clicked a button on the computer attached to the three monitors. All of the camera feeds appeared across the screens. Lena saw multiple feeds from her apartment, Kara’s apartment, Sam and Alex’s house, L-Corp and even the D.E.O. The most startling feed was at Ruby’s school. 

Mara grabbed the back of Lena’s neck. 

“I attached a shock collar to you to keep you in line but if I know anything about us Luthors…we are stubborn as hell and won’t back down. I can’t force you to do anything by threatening your safety or welfare but I sure as hell can with the people you love.”

“What is this? I don’t understand”, Lena said terrified. 

“Ha! Yes you do. Don’t act obtuse for my benefit. You are looking at camera feeds in all the places where the people you love live, work and go to school. I have been everywhere and I have seen every minute of your escapades with Supergirl…or should I say Kara Danvers.”

Lena gasped.

“You are going to do everything I say exactly how I tell you to do it or I will expose Supergirl and murder everyone in your life. I will make sure to take that sniper rifle in that corner over there and shoot Ruby in the head first. I’m a good shot. I can get to any of them quickly and I swear to god I will murder everyone who stands in my way.”

“What are you trying to get me to do?”

“As I said…you will destroy your own life. Kara has called a few times now. I imagine she will call back again and when she does, you will read exactly what I write on this screen. You will say it exactly as I’ve written it and if you paraphrase so much as a word, I will put a bullet in Ruby’s brain faster than Supergirl can move.”

“What did I do to you that made you hate me so much?”

“You were born. You were born and from that moment forward you have always been the bane of my existence. Our parents adored you and treated me like a pariah. They sent me away just to protect their precious Lena. Well, now they’re both dead and you have no one to send me away this time.”

_She doesn’t know about our mother and she doesn’t seem to know my secret. At least there’s that. ___

____

____

Lena was startled by the sound of her phone ringing. Her body tensed. 

“Sounds like it’s time for our first step. Remember…say exactly what I write and nothing more or I start picking off the people you love one by one. If you get brave I will torture them before I kill them.”

Lena was filled with a rage she had never felt before. Mara clipped one of the zip ties so Lena could lift the phone to her mouth. She pressed the gun to Lena’s back. 

“Don’t screw this up.”

The phone stopped ringing. Lena took a deep breath. 

The phone started to ring again.

“Answer it”, Mara said cold and calm.

Lena hit answer but didn’t say anything. 

“Lena? Lena…are you there?”, Kara said into the phone. “Alex said you called in tears and you left work. What’s wrong?”

Mara pointed at the computer screen aggressively and cocked the gun. 

Lena could see the feed of her apartment. She could see Kara standing there in her cape. She was inside and looking around desperately. 

“Lena, please…you’re scaring me.”

Lena read ahead to see what Mara was going to have her say. She shook her head at Mara. Mara moved the gun to Lena’s temple and pressed firmly.

Lena’s voice cracked. 

“Kar…I can’t do this”, Lena said with tears falling down her cheeks. 

“Lena…what are you talking about? What can’t you do?”

Lena read on and she started to sob. 

She could feel the pressure of the gun muzzle pressed to her temple. 

“I can’t be with you. This was all a mistake.”

Lena could literally see the moment that Kara’s confusion turned to excruciating heartbreak. 

“What are you talking about?”, Kara asked desperately. “This isn’t funny Lena. Please tell me everything is okay.”

Tears started falling down Kara’s cheeks. All Lena wanted to do was tell Kara she loved her and Mara was holding her at gunpoint. She wanted to tell her she didn’t mean it but then she thought about Ruby and she was terrified. She hated seeing Kara cry because of her. She felt completely helpless. 

Mara typed some words on the screen in response to what Kara was saying.

“Kar…Everything is not okay and this isn’t a joke. I don’t love you and I don’t want to do this. This was all a huge mistake and I think you need to just leave me alone.”

Lena choked on her tears she was sobbing so much she couldn’t breathe. Mara leaned down and whispered very quietly in her ear. 

“Control yourself.”

Lena could see Kara sit down on the couch. She was weeping. Her whole world was crumbling around her.

“Where are you? Why are you doing this? Why are you saying this? You were fine this morning. You told me you were in love with me. You wanted me to stay. What happened?”

“It’s over Kar. Don’t contact me. I need time. I don’t want this so please just leave me alone.”

“Was it the letter? Did the letter say something? Lena, anything that happens…you know I will be there. I am always by your side…always.”

Mara typed another sentence. Lena wept when she read it. She couldn’t believe she would have to utter the words that were so counter to how she really felt.

“Kar…I don’t want you by my side and I don’t need your help. Stop…just stop. It’s over.”

Mara took the phone and hung it up. She blocked the number so Kara wouldn’t be able to get through anymore. 

Lena watched in agony as Kara collapsed to the ground with grief. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed uncontrollably. She hoped that Kara would calm down and get the message she was trying to send. It was covert but she knew if Kara took the time to think about the conversation she would pick up on it. 

Alex ran through the door to find Kara a complete mess.

“Kara…what is it? Where’s Lena?”

Kara couldn’t even speak she was crying so hard. Her heart was broken into a million pieces. 

“I lost her Alex. I just found her and I lost her.”

Alex ran to Kara and wrapped her arms around her. Lena had never seen Supergirl look so small and so vulnerable. As she watched Kara ball up on the floor like a baby, she realized she was the woman who had broken Supergirl’s heart. Lena hoped if she she survived all of this that that Kara would find a way to forgive her. 

Alex reached over and grabbed Kara’s cell. She hit redial and pressed speaker. 

An error tone rang out loudly. “The caller you are trying to reach is no longer accepting calls from this number. Goodbye.”

Alex’s head dropped. She couldn’t believe this was happening either. When Kara heard the message, she sobbed even harder. Alex disconnected the call and wrapped her arms around Kara tight. 

***

“Come in Kara”, Sam said as she and Alex walked though the threshold. Sam wrapped an arm around Kara who looked absolutely devastated. 

“I grabbed something for you to change into”, Sam said nervously. 

Kara couldn’t speak. She was still crying. She tried to give Sam an appreciative smile but she just started crying more. 

“Come on Kar”, Alex said as she guided her down the hall towards the guest room. Alex opened the door and saw the broken bed post. Kara broke down and wept uncontrollably. Alex closed the door quickly. 

“Babe…I’m going to take her to our room”, Alex said. 

“Good idea”, Sam said feeling completely helpless. 

Alex and Kara walked up the stairs to the second floor. They walked past Ruby’s room where she was fast asleep. 

They walked into Alex and Sam’s bedroom. Kara stood there crushed. Her face was red and moistened with her tears. Alex went to her drawer and grabbed a t-shirt and some sweats. Alex helped Kara take off her Supergirl uniform. Kara couldn’t even lift her hands. She just stood there almost catatonic. 

Once Kara was changed, Alex pulled back the blankets on the bed and helped her lay down. She covered her sister with the blanket and leaned down. She kissed her forehead. She had never seen Kara like this before. She was heartbroken when she had to say goodbye to Mon-El but this was different. This was Lena. 

Alex grabbed the box of tissues next to the bed and placed it next to Kara. Alex rubbed her shoulder and walked out of the room. 

Kara completely let go and wept uncontrollably. Her whole body shook. Kara was completely broken. 

***

Lena watched Kara laying in Sam and Alex’s bed weeping. Every tear that Kara cried, Lena cried two. It broke her heart to see Kara in agony. Lena sobbed. 

_What did I do? ___

____

____

Kara grabbed the blankets and gripped them tight, She buried her face in the pillow. 

Mara stood in the shadows and watched Lena’s world starting to crumble. She was delighted.


	7. All I want

“How are they doing?”, Sam asked setting down two glasses of scotch on the table. 

Alex took a seat next to Sam on the couch and wrapped her arms around her tight.

“Rubes is good. She is totally passed out. I felt her head and I think her fever broke.”

“That’s good. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day for her. How’s Kara?”

“She’s finally asleep but it took some time. I had to hold her for a while to get her to calm down. She just kept crying. It broke my heart.

“This is just insanity. I don’t understand what Lena is going through but I can’t imagine how horrible Kara feels.”

“You know…when you and Ruby left National City, I was devastated. Kara knew how much I cared for you both and I was just depressed and angry at myself for not stopping you.”

“Ah babe”, Sam said gently rubbing her neck.

Alex leaned in and kissed Sam. She hated talking about that time but now she had everything she wanted and she was completely at peace. 

“Kara was there every day with support and love and she is the one who convinced me to go for it and find you.”

“She is such a good sister.”

“She is. The hard part is everyone will see that she and Lena haven’t really been together that long as a couple but Kara is feeling this because she finally found her dream. She finally found true happiness with the woman she has loved for years and it was taken away from her so quickly and without any reason or explanation. At least I was in control of my own destiny. She had her joy taken away from her and she had absolutely no closure. I can’t believe Lena blocked her number. It was so cruel.”

“Lena is many things but she is not cruel. This feels completely off-brand for her. I’m telling you Alex, she was happy…really happy.”

“Something happened the other night when we were at Hilltop. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise so I didn’t say anything. When Lena and I went for that walk she told me how much she loved Kara. She asked me about when I proposed to you. I told her I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and Ruby. She told me that she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Kara. I was shocked. Lena is usually so calculated and cerebral but she was just so vulnerable and lovely. I can’t explain it but at that moment I finally felt really close to her. She asked what I thought about her buying a ring and I told her I completely supported it.”

“Are you serious? So one night she is talking about proposing and the next day she is breaking Kara’s heart into a million pieces? Alex…I’m telling you…there is something really wrong here.”

“Very wrong. I know it has something to do with that damn letter. We should have pushed her more to loop us in. She shouldn’t have had to deal with it on her own.”

“You know Lena. She has always dealt with situations like this alone. She didn’t even loop Kara in.”

“I just wish I knew what we were going to do about Kar.”

“Alex…I tried calling Lena again…still no reply.”

“So, now she is ignoring you?”

“I sent her a text.”

“And?”

“I asked her to call and told her I needed to talk to her.”

“Did she write back?”

“She did. She wrote that she was taking the rest of the week off. She said she needed some space.”

“That definitely doesn’t sound like Lena.”

“The crazy part is that we have this massive window defense presentation on Friday. It is a multi-billion dollar contract with National City and Metropolis. I am prepping the presentation but she was taking lead. If she is out for the rest of the week that means she is missing the most important meeting we have had at L-Corp since I started.”

“What happened to her? Lena would never abandon you or L-Corp like that.”

“I know. Something is fishy and we need to get down to the bottom of it.”

“I just want Kara to be okay.”

“Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for her too.”

***

Lena sat and watched the computer screens. Thankfully Mara was on the other side of the room staring at Lena so she wasn’t seeing her friends finally starting to piece together that maybe there was something wrong. Lena knew in her heart they would figure it out. She hoped that Kara would figure it out but she knew Mara’s words cut deep. Kara would need more time.

Mara walked over to Lena and stood only a few feet away. 

“Studying you in person is so much better than studying you from afar. All of these little tiny mannerisms I never would have picked up on…have all come into focus. Your little nose twitch…the way your eyebrow goes up when you are confused. I like the way you purse your lips when you’re…”, Mara said before Lena interrupted.

“Homicidal”, Lena said with rage in her eyes.

Mara laughed. 

“Oh Lena…this is a dream come true. Finally we can be together without our parents ruining our fun. Finally we can be together as we were always meant to be…with me destroying your life and you watching helplessly as I take everything you love and crush it between my fingers.”

“You’re sick in the head.”

“So all the doctors have told me…and our parents and the kids at school and now you. Yes Lena, I am sick in the head and it is because you ruined my life.”

“How did I ruin your life? I was a child and I did nothing.”

“God I hate that. I really hate that. I hate your smugness and I hate you sitting there acting like a victim. Lena, you came into the world all perfect and sweet and destroyed the family I could have had. They always say twins should be exceptionally close but I feel no connection to you at all.”

_For good reason. She can never see the letter. Never. ___

____

“Mara, you will never pass for me. Everyone around me knows me intimately. You can study me all you want but they know my heart. They know more than just my gestures and makeup. So, you’ve managed to find the same shade of lipstick. So what?”

“Don’t you see Lena? That is why I am slowly putting phase two and phase three in place. Phase two has you abandoning your company to the wolves and phase three has you alienating all of your friends. Well…I will be avoiding them. I’m sure Sam is excited to take over L-Corp in your absence but not for long. For now I will keep studying you until I have it right and then I will start to take your life apart from the inside.”

“What does that mean?”

“Oh no sister…be patient. We’re just getting started.”

***

Alex and Sam fell asleep on the couch watching a movie. Sam laid on top of Alex and they held each other close. 

They were startled awake by the sound of footsteps. 

Kara walked down the stairs and into the living room.

The clock read midnight.

Kara looked like she had been hit by a trash truck. She was disheveled, her face and eyes were read and blotchy and she looked exceptionally sad and frail in Alex’s comfy sweats and t-shirt.

Alex and Sam both got up to check on Kara. They walked over to her and both took turns hugging her. 

“How are you feeling Kar?”

Kara didn’t say anything. She just shrugged her shoulders. 

“Come on Kara…come and sit down. Are you hungry or thirsty? Let me grab you something to drink and a snack. It’s been hours since you got here.”

Sam guided Kara to the couch and sat down next to her.

Kara was still silent but gave Sam a little sad smile and touched her hand. 

Sam hopped up and headed towards the kitchen. 

Alex sat down next to Kara. 

“How are you feeling?”

Kara just shook her head and started crying again.

Alex wrapped an arm around her and held her sister close. 

They heard more footsteps. 

Ruby walked down the stairs and joined Kara and Alex in the living room.

“Hi Baby…did we wake you? Are you okay?”, Alex asked Ruby. 

“Aunt Kara? Are you okay?”

Kara heard Ruby’s voice and put her head up. Kara was completely devastated and spiraling out of control but she would never want Ruby to see her this way.

“Oh…oh hi Ruby. I’m okay sweetie.”

Ruby saw the tears flowing down Kara’s cheeks and she ran over to her. Alex and Ruby held onto Kara and Kara just collapsed in their arms. 

She didn’t know how to be a hero anymore. 

Sam rejoined them with a glass of milk and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She saw the sad tableau and her heart broke. 

She walked over and put the food down in front of Kara. 

“Hey Rubes…you doing okay?”, Sam asked. 

“Yeah…I woke up and I was feeling better. Aunt Kara…what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Yeah baby…she’s okay…or at least she will be. Come on…let’s head back upstairs and give Alex and your Aunt Kara some time together”, Sam said with a little smile. 

Alex and Ruby let go of Kara. Kara looked up at Ruby and tried desperately to smile through her tears. 

Ruby put both hands on Kara’s tear-soaked face and gave her a sad smile. 

“No matter what it is…no matter how bad you feel now…it will get better. Don’t give up and don’t let the sadness overwhelm you.”

The three women all stared at Ruby in bewildered awe. 

Kara threw her arms around Ruby and held her close. 

“I don’t know if I say this enough but I love you Ruby”, Kara said. Ruby leaned back and smiled. 

“Everything is going to be okay”, Ruby said sweetly.

Sam grabbed Ruby’s hand.

“Come on babe…let’s get you back to bed.”

“Okay.”

Ruby walked over and gave Alex a big hug. Alex gave her three kisses on her cheek. 

“I love you Alex. See you in the morning.”

“I love you too baby. Get some rest.”

Ruby gave Kara one final hug and they headed upstairs. 

Kara sat that there slightly more tethered to reality.

“Is that kid for real?”, Kara asked with a crackly voice.

“She is. Sometimes she says the wisest things and Sam and I are just dumbfounded.”

“I’m so sorry Alex.”

“Why on earth would you be sorry Kar?”

“I’m sorry I shut down. I’m sorry you had to get me out of my clothes because I wasn’t functioning. I’m sorry I couldn’t face the guest room. I’m just sorry.”

“I didn’t realize how hard it was for you to get in and out of that suit. Talk about a lot of pieces.”

Kara gave Alex a little smile. 

Alex pushed the milk and the sandwich closer. 

“I’m not hungry Alex. I just feel numb.”

“Come on Kar…you need to eat and drink something.”

Kara didn’t make a move toward either one.

“You need to stay strong.”

“For what?”

“You’re going to get through this.”

“I feel like someone died. I feel like I’ve suffered this permanent and devastating loss and I don’t know what to do Alex…I just don’t know what to do.”

Kara collapsed into Alex’s arms and started crying again.

“You’re going to take it one step at a time. I called Clark. He is going to wrap up some things in Metropolis and he will be here tomorrow. He will keep an eye on National City while you take some time for yourself.”

“Thanks Alex. I feel bad pulling Clark away from Lois.”

“Lois is in town for a convention. They will be together.”

“At least there’s that.”

“Alex, I just don’t know what happened.”

“Listen…I know you might not be able to do this now but can you tell me exactly what she said?”

Kara started shaking a little.

“She said…she said that she thought this was all a mistake. She said she doesn’t love me and she doesn’t want to be with me. She told me to leave her alone.”

“Jesus. She said she didn’t love you?”

“Yes”, Kara said barely able to speak through her tears. 

“Kar….do you think there is any way you weren’t speaking to Lena? Maybe someone impersonating Lena?”

“No. It was Lena. I know her voice better than I know my own. I know everything about her. It was her saying those things.”

“I’m so sorry Kar.”

“I wish it wasn’t her. When she blocked my number it left very little open for interpretation. She hates me and I don’t know why.”

“Kara…I will never believe she hates you. Did she say anything about the letter?”

“No. I asked her if this had something to do with the letter but she just told me it was over.”

“I’m so sorry Kar. Listen…you need to eat something and drink something. We will get you back in bed and hopefully everything will be better tomorrow.”

“I’m not hungry. I should head home. I can’t have Ruby see me like this and you and Sam need your bed back.”

“We can sleep in the guest room. We’re fine Kar. I am not leaving you alone. Sam, Ruby and I are your family. Let us take care of you.”

“I just don’t know how to get this pain to go away. I don’t know how to stop crying or stop hurting.”

“I wish I had a better answer but it’s just going to take time.”

Kara completely broke down.

“Why does it hurt so bad?”

“Because for one fleeting moment…you had everything you wanted.”

“And now she’s gone.”

“You’re not going to give up. I know you Kara Danvers. You’re not going to give up. You’re going to fight.”

“Fight what Alex? If she doesn’t want me…there is no fight…only heartbreak.”

“Please eat. Listen, you’re not going to eat to enjoy your food. You’re going to eat to live. You’re not going to sleep to have happy dreams. You’re going to sleep to rest your body. You’re going to wake up every day and it’s going to hurt a little less.”

Alex pushed the plate closer and Kara grabbed the sandwich and took a bite. She took a sip of the milk while tears still fell down her cheeks. 

***  
Lena watched Kara try to eat the sandwich and her body ached to be near her. Mara had left her alone. She was able to feel her pain. That was the only thing she had left. She needed to hurt without bein threatened or ridiculed by Mara. She wanted to end Kara’s suffering but she was helpless. Lena shook so hard she felt her muscles pull. She wept so hard she choked on her tears. She leaned forward and kissed the screen. Her heart broke.

“I love you Kara. Please don’t give up on me.”

***  
The week passed excruciatingly slow. Alex called James and told him that Kara needed to take some time for a family emergency. He told Alex that she should take as much time as she needed and to let him know if she needed anything. 

Clark filled in for Supergirl and helped put out a couple small fires in National City but there were no major catastrophes. With the Luthors behind bars things were quiet. 

When Kara returned to her apartment she felt like she hadn’t been there in a year. Everywhere she looked she saw the haunting figure of a past version of Lena standing there smiling at her. It was no surprise that everywhere she turned she saw something that reminded her of Lena. Every song she heard reminded her of Lena, every food she loved reminded her of Lena. She would never be able to get away from her memory. She would never be able to find any reprieve from Lena’s lingering soul.

Alex, Sam and Kara made their way to Lena’s place before work hoping to find her but the place had not been touched since Alex and Kara were there last time. 

Sam and Alex wandered around hoping to find answers but they found none. Kara joined them so she could come and pick up her things. 

She couldn’t believe Lena hadn’t been back. 

_How is she staying clean and dressed? Where is she sleeping? ___

____

____

Kara wandered into the bedroom and packed some of the lose items that were in the bedroom back into her suitcase. Everything was as it was the morning she and Lena had made love and showered before she went to CatCo and Lena went to L-Corp. The image of Lena’s slightly dented pillow and her discarded pajamas were a haunting reminder of the fleeting joy she felt. All she felt was agony and a heavy weight on her heart.

She walked over to the bed and grabbed the pajamas. She held them in her arms and pressed them to her face. They smelled like Lena…like peaches and cream. Kara laid down on the bed and placed her head on Lena’s pillow. She curled up and just allowed her heart to ache. 

Sam and Alex walked into the bedroom. Kara didn’t care if they saw her. She didn’t care about much of anything anymore. 

“Kar…we should probably go.”

“Why hasn’t she come back here Alex? This doesn’t feel right at all.”

“I know but whatever Lena’s going through is making her do and say things that don’t make any sense.”

“She cried when she was telling me all of those horrible things. I mean she really cried. She was saying such cold words and yet I could sense pain coming from her.”

“We’re going to figure this out. Sam is going to head to L-Corp right now. They have a very important meeting. Maybe Lena will be there and Sam can finally get some answers. 

“Kara…I will do everything I can to figure this out. She is pulling away from us all but we can’t give up on her.”

“I think she gave up on me”, Kara said under her breath.

Kara pressed the pajamas to her cheek and buried her face in the pillow one more time. 

“I miss her so much. I hate this”, Kara said with a sad desperation in her voice.

“I know Kar…I know”, Alex said sadly. 

***

When the meeting started, Sam was on fire. Whatever Lena was going through, Sam knew she would come back. For now, Sam had to do what she did best. She had to help Lena and help L-Corp be successful. The presentation was long but by the end the whole room was giving her a standing ovation. The representatives from Metropolis and National city were all thrilled and wanted to get the contracts signed right away. Sam explained that they were still being drafted and she would have them sent over as soon as humanly possible. 

The only problem was the signer for L-Corp was missing and Sam knew the deal would be dead in the water if she couldn’t find Lena. 

She pulled out her phone and sent Lena another text. 

_Lena, please tell me you’re okay. You missed the meeting today. I’m worried about you. We can’t proceed with the contract until you’re back. Please call me. ___

____

____

Sam received no response.

***

Another week passed and Kara couldn’t lay in bed any longer. Every muscle in her body ached, she was dehydrated and malnourished and she was starting to feel like she didn’t care if she ever got up again. Alex and Sam had checked in on her but she told them she needed time alone to process her feelings. Mainly, that meant she needed to be alone so she could completely disregard all of the things she needed to do to survive. She finally forced herself out of bed, showered and put on clean pajamas. 

It took everything in her to want to do anything. She walked into the living room and laid on the couch. Her whole body hurt. Her head was pounding, her back hurt from crying. She felt completely drained. 

She put her head back and closed her eyes. All she wanted was to see Lena. All she wanted was to hear her voice. All she wanted was to feel her wrapped in her arms one more time. The aching need to be near her was so painful it felt like she was being stabbed. It was a strange feeling to go from being so intimate with Lena to feeling like she disappeared off the face of the planet.

She buried her face in her hands and cried. She wondered how she had any tears left . 

“She said she loved me. I know she loves me. Why did she leave me?” 

__

__

A sudden knock at the door broke Kara out of her prison of self pity. Was it too much to hope that Lena had come to her senses and was waiting on the other side of the door? Kara got up and walked quickly to the door trying to dry her tears. She opened the door and found Clark on the other side giving her a sweet grin and holding a bag of Chinese food. 

Kara’s hopes were crushed. 

“Hey Kara”, Clark said with a somber smile.

“Hi Clark. Did Alex send you here to check on me?”

“Nope. I came over because I miss my cousin and I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Sure. Come in”, Kara said trying to smile. 

Clark set down the Chinese food on the counter and took off his jacket. 

“I see you showered. That’s good.”

“I think we might be setting the bar a little low Clark”, Kara said with a bit of a smile. 

“I just mean…well…I know first hand how hard it can be to pull yourself out of the pain. Nothing can force you to do it. You just have to push yourself.”

“How’s Lois?”, Kara forced herself to ask. 

Heartbreak had turned her into someone who was feeling very selfish. She hated that. She wasn’t that person and she was determined not to let it get her down. 

“She’s good. She wanted to come with me and see you but I thought it might be better for just us to talk and catch up.”

Kara appreciated the gesture. Being around people for her was hard. Being with Alex, Sam and Ruby was different because they were family and she could be real with them. She knew she could be real with Clark too. 

“Thanks Clark. It means a lot that you came here to help. I’m so sorry I’ve been…”, Kara trailed off.

“Kara…you are heartbroken and rightfully so. When Alex told me what had happened I didn’t believe it. I watched Lena in the fortress of solitude with you. She risked her own life and sacrificed all of her comfort to stay with you just so you wouldn’t be alone. Kara, she loves you and I don’t believe this could possibly be her.”

“I know. Alex doesn’t think so either but she was definitely the one who called and if it wasn’t her…wouldn’t she have reached out? Wouldn’t she have found a way to reach me?”

“Maybe she’s in trouble Kara.”

“What do we do if she is? She told me to leave her alone.”

“Listen…promise me something. Promise me you will pick yourself back up and try. We have the best jobs anyone could ask for. We get to save people and make their lives better. We need to do that for the planet but we also need to do that for ourselves. 

Remember you are from the House of El. The House of El is strong and fierce and loyal. We don’t give up. It’s not in us. It’s not in our blood to quit. We get knocked down and we get right back up again to fight another day and I know you will too. Kara, I say this all of the time but your are the strongest person I have ever met. That blood that flows inside of you along with your love are what drive you and sustain you. Don’t let this beat you. Whatever is happening with Lena is temporary. She will find her way back to you…I promise.”

Clark wrapped his arms around his cousin as she cried on his shoulder. 

“Thanks Clark”, Kara said trying to calm herself. 

“You need fresh air. You need to leave this apartment. You need to save some lives, help some people and spend time with your family. Alex and Sam invited all of us to dinner tonight. Why don’t you get some clothes on and we can go be with the people you love. It’s better than being here and wallowing.”

“Clark…I know it’s in me to get past this. I know it’s in me to survive but I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“How do I go on without her?”


	8. In My Blood

“Well…how do I look?”, Mara asked Lena as she modeled the black dress.

“Insane.”

“Perfect! Just the look I was going for. Now remember…be nice or I will murder everyone you hold near and dear.”

“What are you hoping to gain from all of this?”

“I’ve told you Lena. God…you never listen. I am going to tear your life to shreds, light it up with gasoline and dance in the flames of your heartache and ruin.”

“Who the hell talks like that? You’re nuts and this isn’t going to work.”

“Come on…look at my hands. Flawless right? Look at that manicure. The dress I know works because it’s yours. I did have to make some improvements.”

Mara flipped the bottom of the dress up and revealed throwing knives hidden in the dress. 

“Never leave home without them”, Mara said with a hearty chuckle. “I used to think dresses were only for women like you, spoiled, pampered and content with sitting on your ass all day. I realize now dresses are great as long as you have the right accessories.”

“Why don’t you just kill me? Seriously. Just kill me and get it over with. Stop torturing the people around me. It’s pointless.”

“Oh really? Pointless? I think not. Watching you cry and squirm and generally feel like garbage is what I live for. Did you see the contacts? Perfect and green just like yours. I have the same makeup, the same perfume. Jesus…I make a better you than you do.”

“I beg to differ”, Lena said with a scowl.

“I’ve watched the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you love, the way you hate. I know you and I am confident I can be you. I think I could even fool Kara at this point.”

“Oh, please get cocky. My Kara, my beautiful sweet Kara knows ME. She will know you’re not me instantly.”

“Oh…I wouldn’t be so sure. Maybe I’ll make love to her and make you watch in horror as I bring her to her knees with Kryptonite and finish her once and for all.”

“So, you have a dress. How does this fit into your “plan”?

“Just wait patiently dear sister and stay tuned. All of their lives will be turned completely upside down very soon and all seemingly because of you. You see this pin I’m wearing? It’s a camera. I want you to see every minute of their agony.”

***

Kara stared off into the distance as her family moved to and fro on the deck. The table was set for dinner and the night was cool and crisp. Ruby ran over and sat at the table next to Kara. She grabbed onto her arm and held on tight. She rested her head against Kara’s shoulder and once again Kara was tethered back to reality by the precocious pre-teen. 

“How are you doing Aunt Kara?”

“I’m good Ruby. How are you doing?”

“You don’t have to lie. It’s okay if you’re not doing great.”

“I’m really not doing great. Mostly feeling numb at the moment.”

“Just enjoy dinner and remember we love you.”

Kara wrapped an arm around Ruby and held onto her tight.

Sam, Alex, Lois and Clark all walked over to the table carrying various plates and bowls of food. They set the dishes down and joined Kara at the table. They all looked at Kara with concern in their eyes. 

“We’re really glad you decided to get out and get some fresh air Kara”, Sam said with a smile. 

“It’s good to see you all. I’ve missed you guys”, Lois said with a heartfelt smile. 

“You okay Kar?”, Alex asked. 

Kara just nodded yes but didn’t say anything. The mood was tense because all of them loved Kara and wanted to make her feel better but there was nothing they could do for her. She had lost her love even before it began and now Kara wasn’t her chipper go-getter self. She was a numb shell of what she once was. Ruby held onto Kara tight and smiled.

“It always sounds so weird when you call Aunt Kara “Kar”, Alex. I always think of a car.”

It was a silly observation but it appeared to spark something in Kara. Kara’s face changed and she smiled. She reached over and wrapped her arms around Ruby and kissed her head. 

“You okay Kara”?, Clark asked on behalf of the confused group. 

Kara stood up from the table. 

“It was Lena. It was Lena on the phone but I think she was trying to send me a message.”

“What kind of message?”, Sam asked. 

“The last morning I saw her we were saying goodbye. She accidentally called me “Kar” and we both agreed it didn’t work. It sounded way too much like Alex. Like super creepy kissing someone and having them call you what your sister calls you”, Kara said excited. 

“Okay…”, Alex said. 

“When Lena called me…she called me “Kar” the entire time. I didn’t realize it until just now. She never called me Kara. I know it’s small but I think maybe you’re right. I think maybe Lena was trying to send me a message.”

“Really? You think so?”, Sam asked. 

“I do. I was so devastated by her words I didn’t think about it before but yeah…I really think this was a message. Also, why would she be crying if she hated me so much? She didn’t sound cold. She sounded like she was in pain.”

“You have to find her”, Lois said. 

“So, what are you going to do now?”, Alex asked excited to see Kara finally starting to come back. 

“I need to see her. We need to find her. If she won’t take my calls I will email her…I will send her letters…I will sky write messages until she is willing to talk to me. I won’t let her walk away.”

“You finally have something you didn’t have before…hope”, Clark said with a smile. 

“I’m not giving up on her. Like you said Clark…it’s not in our blood to give up, I won’t let her shut us out. We will find her and get down to the bottom of all of this.”

“Oh thank God we have you back Kara. Now we might get some real answers”, Sam said relieved. 

“Let’s eat. I’m starved”, Kara said reaching for a dinner roll.

***

The camera feeds at Sam and Alex’s house were few and far between. There was one in the living room, one in the guest room and one in Sam and Alex’s bedroom. As Lena watched all of her friends and loved ones coming in and out of the house she wondered if any of them were thinking of her and if any of them knew she was in trouble. Mara’s plan was in motion and she hoped all of her friends and the woman she loved would survive.

***

Clark and Lois said good night early. They were eager to get back to the hotel and unwind. Clark agreed to stay in town for a while longer to help Kara protect the city and find Lena. Clark was relieved his words had gotten through to Kara and relieved that she finally had hope. The image of Lena protecting Kara in the fortress of solitude stuck with Clark. He knew their love was a love worth fighting for.

After Clark and Lois left, Sam took Ruby upstairs to watch a movie and Alex took Kara outside for a chat and a glass of wine. Alex lit the fire pit and they sat close together talking. 

“It’s nice to see you upright and hopeful.”

“I know this might be an uphill battle but it’s a battle worth fighting. I have to hold onto this glimmer of hope. Until then, I will do my best to stop being sad and start being Supergirl again.”

Alex moved closer and wrapped an around Kara’s shoulders. 

“I love you Kar.”

“I love you too Alex. Thank you helping me get through this.”

“You’ve always been here for me. You have gotten me through the worst times. I will always be here for you.”

“Do you think Lena is out there right now thinking of me looking at that same moon?”

“God, I hope so”, Alex said sincerely.

***

When Sam arrived at L-Corp the next morning, the whole place was abuzz. As she walked through the lobby she heard people chatting under their breath. 

“Did you see her? I’ve never seen her act like that”, one of the security guards said. 

Another woman standing at the information desk chatted with two other women.

“What was up with that show she put on. Jeez. Saying hello to everyone in the building practically. Talk about weird. I mean I know we should all feel special but it seemed totally weird.”

Sam was confused but she just held onto her briefcase and made her way through the lobby. 

As Sam passed the security desk, Gerald, the morning guard flagged Sam down. 

“Hi Gerald. How are you this morning?”

“I’m great Ms. Arias. A message came down from Ms. Luthor’s office. She would like to see you in her office right away.”

Sam lit up.

“That’s fantastic Gerald. Thank you so much.”

Sam headed towards the elevators and made her way quickly to Lena’s office. She was hopeful that this was all some kind of mistake and their lives would be back to normal in no time. At least she would get some answers. 

When the elevator doors opened, Sam quickly made her way down the hall to Lena’s office. She stopped in the doorway. The scene was not what she was expecting at all.

Two representatives from Human Resources stood a few feet in front of her. She recognized them immediately from her past dealings with their department. Lena sat at her desk but her chair was turned away towards the windows. Sam tried to walk towards Lena’s desk but the HR reps stopped her. 

“Hi Lena…where have you been”, Sam asked trying to get Lena’s attention. 

“Ms. Arias…please come with us. We need to talk”, one of the the HR representatives said cooly. 

Sam was very confused. Why hadn’t Lena turned around. 

“What are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere with you until I can talk to Lena. Lena…please.”

“Ms. Arias…please don’t make us call security.”

“By all means. Call security. I am Lena’s partner. We run this company together. She’s said it herself. Now let me through so I can talk to my friend.”

One of the HR reps, a chubby redhead named Bernice, picked up her phone and called downstairs to security.

“Lena! For god’s sake please look at me and explain what is going on”, Sam pleaded with Lena.

“Ms. Arias…we didn’t want to have to do this here but you are being let go from L-Corp”, the other HR rep said. This one was an older woman with silver hair and a docile demeanor.

“Dammit Lena! Turn around and face me. What the hell is going on here?”

The flustered redhead got off the phone and handed Sam a packet. 

“This contains your final check and a generous severance per your employment agreement.”

“LENA! Turn the hell around and talk to me. What is this?”

Mara turned slightly in her chair, just enough that Sam could see her profile. 

She put a hand up and motioned for them to leave. 

Gerald walked through the doorway. 

“Ms. Arias…I’m sorry but we are going to have to ask you to leave, Gerald said firmly. 

“Are you kidding? Seriously?”

“Yes Ms. Arias. Unfortunately your time at L-Corp is over”, Bernice said sadly. Gerald put a hand on her arm and she pulled away. 

“Lena…we are going to get down to the bottom of this…I swear. This isn’t you and this isn’t over.”

Gerald and the HR representative escorted Sam out of Lena’s office and closed the door. When Mara knew the coast was clear she turned her chair around and let out a creepy little laugh. 

“That was easier than I thought it would be.”

***  
Kara sat at her desk at CatCo. She sent Lena another email. So far she hadn’t received any bounced messages. This was her tenth email. As Kara promised, she had also sent her multiple letters and left messages on her work phone, She was not going to give up. Wherever she was, she would know that Kara wasn’t going to give up on her. 

***  
“Jesus Sam…are you okay?”, Alex asked concerned. 

“You know…I should be upset but now I know more than ever…that isn’t Lena. The other day…the last day I saw Lena she told me I was just as much a part of L-Corp as she was and that we run the company together. THAT is not Lena.”

“So, did you look at her. Did it look like Lena?”

“I only saw her leg and her profile. She looked like Lena but this…this is madness.”

“I agree. Let me call Kara and see if she can get the jump on her. Now that we know where she is…Kara will figure it out. She knows Lena better than any of us.”

“Call her. We need to end this.”

***  
Clark and Kara flew through the sky. Clark looked down at the highway and saw a terrible accident. Clark motioned to Kara and they flew down to help. There was a huge pile up. Five cars hit each other and the first car hung precariously over a high railing. Three of the cars were on fire and multiple occupants were stuck in their cars. 

Clark flew down and put the fires out with his cold breath. Meanwhile, Kara flew to the car hanging off the railing and grabbed it. She flew it over to safety and set it down on the highway. Next she and Clark helped get all of the trapped passengers and drivers out of the cars. One of the occupants was a little girl who was trapped in the back seat. When Kara set her down on the freeway, completely unharmed, she wrapped her arms around Kara’s waist and gave her a big hug. 

“Thank you Supergirl!”

Kara gave her a smile and flew into the sky. Clark smiled at Kara. They landed on the crest of the hill where Kara and Lena shared their first dance and their first kiss. 

“How are you feeling now Kara?”, Clark asked with his signature grin. 

“Better. Much better. It’s good to be back.”

“It’s good to have you back.”

Kara and Clark heard a chime on their comms. 

“Supergirl…come in…Supergirl….”, Alex’s voice crackled into their ears.

“Yeah Alex. We’re here. Is everything okay?”

“Lena is at L-Corp right now.”

“Really? Is everything okay?”

“She just fired Sam.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“Very. She fired Sam and she didn’t even have the guts to look her in the eyes and do it herself.”

“Clark and I will head to L-Corp right now. We are settling this once and for all.”

***

Clark and Kara walked through the lobby of L-Corp. Kara was on the warpath and determined to see Lena. Gerald walked over to Kara. 

“Excuse me Ms. Danvers…”, Gerald said with a polite but empowered tone.

“Hi Gerald. We need to see Ms. Luthor right away,”

“I’m sorry Ms. Danvers. We are under strict orders not to let you into the building.”

“Come on Gerald. You know me. I’m Lena’s…um friend and we need to see her. It’s a matter of life and death.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Please. Just call her and ask her again.”

“Okay.”

Gerald walked back over to the security desk and made a call. Kara and Clark couldn’t tell what he was saying but they could see him nodding thoughtfully.

Gerald returned a minute later with a somber look on his face.

“I’m sorry Ms. Danvers…Ms. Luthor said we are to escort you off the property. You are not welcome at L-Corp.”

“This is insane.”

Clark took Kara’s arm. 

“Come on Kara. We should go.”

Kara turned around angrily and she and Clark made a hasty exit. When Kara got outside she was biting her lip. 

“I just don’t understand this Clark.”

“Don’t panic. Remember…you and I have a particular skill most people don’t have. Come back tonight…come back as Supergirl and don’t give her the choice.”

“You're right. I can land on her balcony and confront her there.”

“Exactly. All hope isn’t lost.”

Kara’s phone started to ring. Kara looked down and it said “Nia Calling.”

Kara picked up the phone. 

“Hey Nia…this really isn’t a good time.”

“Kara…where are you?”

“I’m with Clark Kent. We are working on a story. Why?”

“You need to get back here right away. James is gathering everyone for a meeting.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Lena Luthor just sent out a press release announcing that she is shuttering CatCo Worldwide Media. She is shutting down CatCo.”

“She’s lost her mind.”

“She really has. Please Kara…get here as soon as you can.”

Kara turned to Clark. 

“We need to do something now. She’s closing CatCo.”

Clark looked at her confused. 

“What?”

“She is imploding everything around her. I just don’t understand why.”

“Do what I said. Go to her tonight as Supergirl and confront her. It’s the only way.”

***  
The scene at CatCo was somber when Kara and Clark arrived. Everyone was making their way into James’ office. Kara still missed Cat so much. She missed her counsel, she missed their talks and she missed the safety she gave Kara always being there. It was still strange for her to walk into that office and see James Olsen.

Everyone stood around the office as James stood up. The screens behind his desk all showed the same news story. 

“Lena Luthor announces she will close down CatCo Worldwide Media.”

“As all of you have now heard, Lena Luthor, the owner of CatCo Worldwide Media has announced that she is closing the doors of CatCo at the end of the month. I have tried reaching out to her and her office but I haven’t received any response. I assure you I was not made aware of this and had I been, I would have done whatever I could to stop this. For now, it looks like CatCo will be shutting down. Anyone who needs a recommendation, please come and see me. I am so sorry that I can’t give you better news. I will do everything in my power to stop this but for now…get your resume’s ready. That’ll be all.”

Everyone walked out of the office except for Kara and Clark. They approached James. They all had the same shocked face. 

“What in the hell is going on with Lena?”, James asked. 

“I really don’t know. She won’t talk to me or see me”, Kara said commiserating with Lena’s ex. 

“Listen James…we think Lena might be going through something…something we can’t quite explain. We need to find a way to talk to her but she is shutting everyone out.”

“Same with me. She isn’t taking any of my calls and all of my emails are going nowhere. I tried going down there but she wouldn’t see me”, James said. 

“Same here”, Clark said. We couldn’t get past security. 

“I’m going to keep reaching out James. I can’t guarantee that I will be able to stop her from closing CatCo but maybe we can get some answers.”

“Thanks Kara. I’m glad you’re here too Clark. It’s good to have my best friend in town.”

“I have a feeling I’ll be sticking around for a bit.”

“Good. We need you.”

***  
Lena watched in horror as the news broke. She broke down again. This was all too much. Mara had made sure to set up the television so Lena would be able to see the announcement.  
Mara was doing an excellent job impersonating her and she was doing exactly as she promised. She was blowing up Lena’s life from the inside and Lena could only watch everything unfold on the screens before her. 

***  
Sam, Alex and Kara sat on the deck at CatCo. 

“I’m going to go to Lena tonight. See if I can surprise at L-Corp as Supergirl.”

“I have a better idea”, Sam said to Kara. “Instead of you confronting her at L-Corp you should go to the gala she is attending tomorrow night.”

“What gala?”

“Some tech mogul throws the gala every year. You should be able to sneak in and get to her. If she is in public attending someone else’s gala she can’t prevent you from being there. I know I have an invitation somewhere. Let me find it and you can attend. We need answers now. That thing that fired me is not Lena. I guarantee it.”

“I think we all agree that we are dealing with a different kind of enemy. One with Lena’s face.”

***  
The gala was packed by the time Kara arrived. She knew it would be better to surveil Lena in a crowded space. She wanted to confront her but she also wanted to watch her. Kara walked in and looked around. At first she couldn’t see her and then there she was in the middle of the room, wearing a gorgeous black dress and a cherry lip. She was surrounded by people who were chatting with her. She also had four large security types standing around her looking brutish. Kara was shocked. She never had a security detail before. Whoever or whatever this was, it couldn’t possibly be Lena. 

Or at least that’s what Kara told herself. 

_What if it is Lena and not some cyborg alien version of her? What if these decisions are her own? Stop it Kara! ___

____

____

Kara wasn’t ready to speak to her. She wanted to watch her. Kara stood in the corner trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. That was made a bit more difficult because Kara looked absolutely stunning in her lapis blue dress that brought out her eyes. 

_I want her attention. I miss her attention. I hate myself right now._

____

____

Kara watched Lena talking to people. Her reactions seemed normal. Her mannerisms were normal. Everything looked right but there was something off. Not everyone saw it but Kara was able to look at Lena and see her softer side, her sweet side simply by looking at her smile, her bright eyes. Kara didn’t feel that. Her smile was wrong, her eyes weren’t bright. 

Kara was shocked when Lena started making her way over in Kara’s direction. 

_She saw me. Great. I wonder what her plan is. ___

____

____

Mara approached Kara and gave her a smile. 

“Hello Ms. Danvers. How are you? I didn’t realize you would be invited to this gala. In fact…i’m sure you weren’t invited to this gala.”

“Sam Arias gave me her invitation.”

“It’s a real shame about poor Sam but we really had to trim some of the fat. She was redundant. I can do everything she was doing and with a bit more flare’, Mara said almost aggressive.

“Well…I hope you enjoy yourself Ms. Danvers. It was lovely to see you.”

Lena turned to walk away. 

Kara sniffed the air. She knew everything about Lena…she knew every inch of Lena. She didn’t smell like Lena. She smelled wrong.

Lena and her security team walked through the ballroom quickly. Kara tried to catch up but people kept getting in her way. When she got outside Lena and her detail were gone. She sped to throw on her Supergirl uniform. She flew around until she found the car. She had to see her. She had to know for sure. 

Her car pulled up outside of L-Corp. Her goons got out first and Kara dispatched them all. She was about to confront the imposter. 

Mara got out of the car. Kara looked her up and down. She used her x-ray vision and she could see knives sewn into the dress. She could also see a dead eye behind the woman’s contacts. 

“Where the hell is Lena?”, Kara demanded. 

Mara pulled out a small rock of Kryptonite and held it against Kara’s chest. She fell backward as Mara pressed into Kara’s chest harder and harder. Mara looked down at Kara and gave her a demonic grin. 

“She’s dead. Lena is dead and I am going to expose you…Kara Danvers.”

Kara was in complete shock. 

“Who are you?”

“Your worst nightmare.”

Kara tried to push Mara away but she had no leverage and the kryptonite was rapidly stealing her strength. A couple of the goons came to and beat Kara’s head into the ground until she passed out. 

When Kara came to, Lena and her goons were gone. 

_She can’t be dead. ___


	9. Ends of the Earth

Lena awoke atop her makeshift bed, nestled on the filthy floor of the old steel factory. Mara had thrown down some old rags and clothing for Lena to lay on. Her accommodations at hotel crazy were less than stellar. Long chains were screwed into the wall and attached to her extremities.

Now that Mara was away more, Lena was moved to the old custodian quarters of the abandoned steel factory. She was able to move more freely but her chains didn’t allow her to move too far. The old dank room was equipped with a small bathroom and and a desk that held the monitors so Lena could continue to see all of the horrors Mara was inflicting on those closest to her.

In her opinion, Mara had become far too complacent and Lena had faith she would screw things up.

Lena wished she could do something to escape but the chains that bound her and small morsels of food she was fed kept her trapped and weak. She was drinking and bathing off the rusty tap in the bathroom. She wondered what terrible things floated around in the water the first and second day but she had become used to the taste of rust and sentiment and now she was thankful she had an endless supply of hydration. During her first couple of weeks, Mara had delighted in keeping water and food from her until she was on the brink of passing out, and only then would she give Lena table scraps and a small Dixie cup of water. It was enough to survive. That was all that mattered.

When Mara moved Lena, she hadn’t checked the room throughly. Mara wanted to make sure that Lena’s days were spent watching the video monitors and nothing else but Lena had found a pencil and a pile of old papers. She began to write letters to the people she loved just in case she didn’t see them again.

Most of the time she wrote to Kara. She had so much to say she wrote very small. It was barely legible but she had to get the words out.

Lena could deal with the squalor of her conditions, she could deal with the lack of food and water. She could even live with the idea of everyone thinking she was some kind of villain. What she couldn’t live with was the pain she knew she had caused Kara. The sound of Kara’s voice cracking and her tears were all Lena thought about those first few weeks.

During the last few days Lena had seen a change. Lena was seeing everyone she loved identifying that there was something wrong. Her real hope came when she saw Kara confront Mara the night of the gala. Mara thought Lena would be witnessing more heartbreak but all Lena saw on the lapel camera was the love of her life finally realizing that Lena was lost and needed help. Lena’s heart dropped into her stomach when Mara told Kara that Lena was dead but Lena could see in Kara’s eyes that she wouldn’t give up on her.

When Lena sat down to write to Kara, her heart was full of pride. She was so proud that Kara was strong and faithful and brave. She was proud to have such a beautiful woman love her. She was proud of their love and their enduring strength despite all of the challenges Mara threw at them.

Lena sat down and looked at the screens. No sign of Kara anywhere. It probably meant she was flying high above…hopefully looking for Lena. Lena put her pencil to the paper.

_Kara, my love, my life, my reason for breathing,_

_I had a dream about you last night. It was such a beautiful dream. I wished it would never end. We built a house on our hill and everyone gathered together for our wedding. I know you’re never going to read this so I’m not ashamed to admit that I think I have wanted to marry you since the moment we met. What I mean is that from the instant my eyes met yours…I didn’t ever want to let you go._

_After I found out you were Supergirl, I was hurt but every second away from you was agonizing. I felt like my skin burned and my nerves were crying out in pain._

_We were together for such a brief time but I finally figured out what it was like to be in heaven. I found my heart’s true happiness in your arms. This experience has been so painful but my dreams do keep leading me to our passion. I have learned about new desires I have that I hope one day I can share with you. I never want to hold back. I want to be with you completely. I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you._

Tears started to fall from Lena’s eyes onto the paper.

_I hate this. I hate her. I love you for knowing it wasn’t me. Thank you. Even if you don’t find me before she ends this…I hope you know how much I love that you know me so well. I miss you so much I feel like I’m going to die of heartbreak but I promise you I will hold on as long as I can. You are my world. I love you, I need you, I’m proud to be yours. Kara…I’m yours, mind, body and soul and I always will be. Everything that is mine is yours. If something happens to me, I want you to have everything. The money, my apartment, my car. I can’t give you enough. I wish I could give you my body and my heart but I fear Mara will be taking those soon. Take everything else and know I love you completely, without hesitation or want. You are perfect._

_Yours eternally,_

_Lena._

Lena folded up the piece of scrap paper and shoved it into an exposed pipe where she was storing the remaining scraps of paper and the pencil now worn down to a nub.

“I love you Kara.”

***

Mara paced back and forth. She had gathered together the worst of the worst. The L-Corp conference hall was filled to the brim with the worst kinds of criminals including many of the Luthor’s followers and people who wanted to see Supergirl and Superman dead.

“You all know why we have gathered here today. My brilliant friend Samuel here has devised a foolproof plan to help the Luthors break out of their impenetrable prison. Once they are free, all of us with ban together to stop Supergirl and Superman once and for all. I assure you I will not rest until I see the Luthors free and the Supers dead.”

The whole room went crazy with screams, hollers, whistles and applause.

“Now, Samuel will go over the plan in detail and everyone will have a part to play.”

Samuel, a mousy little dog faced man walked across the stage and stood at the podium.

“Hello? Hello? Can you all hear me?”

The occupants of the room were confused. They expected to be lead by a hero, by the worst villain. Instead they were being led by someone smaller and more docile that something they would find on the bottom of their shoe. All of the criminals started to laugh and point at the little man. They all scoffed at him and made funny faces.

Suddenly Samuel pulled out a Kryptonite gun and shot it towards the back of the room.

“EVERYONE SHUT UP!”, Samuel commanded.

The room went silent.

“Thank you”, he said returning to his normal voice. “Now let’s get started. Here is the plan.”

***

“Kar, I’m worried. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”, Alex asked concerned. Kara laid on the hospital bed inside the D.E.O. medical facility.

Kara stood up and brushed herself off.

“I’m fine. All I need is some sun and I will be right as rain.”

“I mean emotionally. You said the imposter said Lena was dead.”

Kara smiled.

“That is exactly what I would say if I wanted me to think Lena was dead. Jeez…that was a bit confusing. Did that make sense?”, Kara asked almost giddy.

“Yes. So you think Lena is still alive?”, Clark asked.

Kara smiled.

“I know she is and we are going to find her. That imposter never should have said what she did. Now I have more hope. Now I have Lena out there somewhere and I will find her. My Lena loves me. I lost hope and my way for short time because I thought there was a chance she hated me. Our Lena loves Sam and Ruby and Alex. She is out there somewhere and she needs our love and support. I will not stop until I find her.”

Alex put an arm around Kara’s shoulders.

“I’m right there with you Kar. We are going to find her and bring her home.”

“So, what’s the plan?”, Clark asked.

“We need to find something…anything to help us track the imposter. We have to assume she will eventually lead us back to Lena.”

“Sounds like a good place to start”, Clark said with a nod of approval.

“We will fly high above and stake out all of the places the imposter has been or we think she might go to. Meanwhile, Alex see what you can find out down here. Maybe there is someone helping her. Maybe there is a pattern. We just need to find it.”

Alex waved over Vasquez.

“Hey boss!”, Vasquez said ready to help.

“I need to track down Lena Luthor. We need to get eyes everywhere. Have the team drop anything non-essential. Let’s get Brainy on this as well.”

“Aye aye. We will get to work straight away.”

“Thanks Vasquez”, Alex said with a small smile and a nod.

Vasquez walked away.

“Alex…I have an idea”, Kara said.

“Sure. What’s up Kar?”

“This all started when Lena received that package from Lionel Luthor, right?”

“Yeah…, I suppose it did.”

“What if we go and see if we can find it. It’s possible Lena destroyed it or Mara has it but I am hoping it is more likely that she has it in her safe at home or at L-Corp. Maybe there are answers in the letter that will help us find Lena and destroy the imposter.”

“I’m in. Let’s go and see if we can find the package. It could be our best lead.”

“I’d better call Lois. Sounds like we’re going to have a long night”, Clark said with a smile.

***  
He awoke with a start. The nurse urged him to lay back down and rest but he was adamant that he get to National City at once.

“I feel fine…please tell me what day is it?”

“It is the 28th sir. You’ve been here for almost a month.”

“Oh God…I hope it’s not too late.”

He could feel the deep cuts, scratches and burns still trying to heal. His face had a large bandage across it and his left arm was broken.

Lionel got up from the hospital bed and pulled out all of the wires and pads that tethered him to the bed.

“Where are my clothes?”

***

Kara, Clark and Alex made their way to Lena’s place. They were hopeful that she would be there but it appeared as though the place hadn’t been touched. At least the imposter left Lena’s home alone. Kara could still look around and feel Lena everywhere.

“Follow me”, Kara said confidently.

The three walked through the living room and into Lena’s office. Kara approached the wall and used her x-ray vision.

“There is definitely something in the safe that is roughly the same size as the package.”

Kara told them to step back. Using her laser vision, she was able to trigger the device that exposed the safe. Once the safe was exposed, she and Clark used their combined laser vision power to open the safe. Once it was open, they were disappointed to find only a few expensive pieces of jewelry, a decent stack of emergency cash and a small black journal.

Alex pulled the journal out and handed it to Kara.

“You should read it. Maybe there’s a clue in there.”

Kara opened the journal to the last page.

_Had that dream again. All I want is Kara, in her Supergirl uniform to take me from be…._

Kara stopped reading and placed the journal back into the safe where they found it.

“What was in there?”, Alex asked.

“Nothing useful. It’s private and we should respect her privacy. I don’t see the package here. We will need to check her safe at L-Corp.”

“How? None of us are allowed anywhere near that place?”, Clark said.

“We will sneak into L-Corp tonight. A good old fashioned heist. I know my way around the place and if we encounter anyone, the combined power of the three of us should do the trick.”

“This feels wrong, breaking in somewhere but I know it’s for a good cause”, Clark said brightly.

“We need to see that letter. It has to have answers. Come on…let’s go back to the house and re-group. I want to see if Sam has had any luck with the footage of Lena”, Alex said.

“Footage?”, Kara asked.

“I asked Sam to get whatever footage she could get of Lena in the past from press conferences, galas, charity events and compare the footage against the imposter now.”

“That’s a great idea”, Kara said. “I hope Lena is out there somewhere knowing we are going to find her.”

“She is Kara. She is and she will never give up hope. If I learned one thing from our last encounter, it’s that she loves you to the ends of the earth”, Clark said giving Kara a little pat on the back.

“I’m hers and I will do whatever it takes to find her and take down this imposter.”

***

When Kara, Alex and Clark arrived at Sam and Alex’s place, they found a shocked Sam sitting at her computer.

Alex walked up to Sam and rubbed her shoulders. She gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Babe, you okay?”

“Alex…I…look”, Sam said.

It was the CatCo worldwide media page. There was a video of the imposter and dozens of goons boarding the secure prison ship that held the Luthors. The footage showed what looked like Lena shooting guards and laughing as she made her way down the hall. The video showed the imposter freeing Lillian. When the imposter opened Lex’s cell, Lillian took one of the goon’s guns and shot Lex in the chest. The imposter left and they made their way out of the facility. The imposter looked up at the camera and shot it with her gun only after her face was clearly seen.

Alex, Kara and Clark were speechless.

“This is bad. Really bad”, Alex said.

“All of the news agencies are reporting “Lena Luthor, one time philanthropist and brilliant mogul, frees mother from prison in bloodbath.”

“This imposter really wants the world to hate Lena…doesn’t she?”, Clark asked.

“Seems like it”, Sam said.

Alex kneeled down next to her gorgeous fiancé and took her in. Every time they were apart her heart ached. Even now she could stare at Sam for hours. Sam turned to Alex and gave her a sweet kiss.

“Did you find anything in the footage?”, Alex asked.

“Oh yeah…wait till you see this”, Sam said.

She brought up a video feed of the imposter from the gala.

“Check this out. You really have to look closely. See where she takes her contact out and looks at the camera?”

“Jeez…what is wrong with her eye?”, Clark asked.

“I saw her eye the night of the gala. I used my x-ray vision and saw a few things that didn’t add up.”

“Is that when you knew it wasn’t her”, Alex asked.

“No. I knew the moment I smelled her. I have always told you that she smells like peaches and cream. It’s not a shampoo or body wash. It’s Lena. That imposter smells wrong.”

“Look at this”, Sam said pointing to the screen.

Sam fast forwarded the video. It was footage of imposter later that evening. She was off to the side. She went to bend over and one of the knives came loose from the dress and dropped to the ground. The point stuck into the floor and the imposter had to quickly retrieve it and throw it into her purse.

“What is that?”, Alex asked.

“I zoomed in and it appears to be a black throwing knife”, Sam said shaking her head.

“This woman must be stopped”, Kara said gritting her teeth,

“Well…we will be one step closer tonight”, Clark said.

***

Lena watched the feed and sobbed. Her tears were tears of joy. Her family knew she was in trouble and they were going to bring her home. That was all she needed to see to hold out. She could live off that hope and her dreams of Kara.

***  
“Who are you? You definitely aren’t my daughter”, Lillian said with her signature sly grin.

“My name is Mara. I am Lena’s twin sister.”

Lillian took a moment to process the information. She looked at Mara and smiled.

“Why did you help me escape?”

“Well, I don’t think there is anyone else on the planet that hates your daughter more than I do…but I think you come close.”

“Lena has betrayed me one too many times.”

“Why did you shoot Lex?”

“Lex was trying to make a deal with D.E.O. He wanted to expose some of my hidden bases in exchange for a nicer view. He had to be stopped.”

“Well…you’re free and I think you and I have something in common.”

“What’s that?”

“We both want to see Lena suffer. It’s time to get to work”, Mara said with a chilling laugh.

Lillian joined in. The image was haunting.

***  
Lionel sat in the airport bar waiting for his plane to board. He looked up at the screen and to his horror, he saw his daughter. Not Lena, as the news was reporting. It was Mara…he would know her anywhere.

“Hey Barkeep, can you turn it up?”

The reporter spoke into her microphone standing in front of the L-Corp building.

“This horrific crime is just one decision amongst many recent decisions that have led National City to believe that Lena Luthor, President and CEO of L-Corp and CatCo Worldwide Media has indeed been working with her mother and brother and helping them with their criminal enterprise. That or she has gone completely insane.

Over the last few weeks, there has been much scandal around Ms. Luthors decisions to fire her Chief Financial Officer and closest advisor Samantha Arias and to shutter the doors of CatCo Worldwide Media. Many of her supporters have lost faith in her and L-Corp but now that this footage has been released…she will have a lot of explaining to do to her investors and the police.”

Lionel finished his glass of scotch and set down some money.

“Keep the change”, he said to the bartender.

***

Kara, Clark and Alex stood a block down from the L-Corp building. Alex looked down at her watch. It said 0200.

“Clark and I will fly up to the balcony and make entry. I’m hoping she doesn’t still have the kryptonite out there.”

“Kar, why don’t you fly me up and I can double check. I can get rid of the Kryptonite if it’s there.”

“Good plan.”

Kara grabbed Alex and flew her up to the balcony. Kara and Clark floated high above. Alex looked around and found a small thing string of the glowing substance. She yanked it off the balcony and threw it over the edge to the ground. She motioned for Kara and Clark to land and kicked in the balcony doors.

The three walked in cautiously.

“Let’s get in and get out as quickly as possible. Clark…do you want to check Lena’s office? We are looking for a small yellow envelope that contains a bunch of paper.”

“Sure. Where are you two going?”

“We have to go down to Lena’s private lab. That’s where her other safe is.”

“I’ll come with you. We might need to use our combined powers again.”

Clark dug through the drawers quickly.

“There’s nothing here except stationary supplies and lipstick.

Kara gave Clark a nod and they made their way quietly down the hall and towards the stairs. They were able to avoid the cameras the security guards with ease. Kara remembered the whole setup from the last time she and Lena had come to the building to retrieve the Kryptonite-resistant material. Lena was still working on their upgraded suits. She wanted to make sure they would be 100% effective. They believed that all the kryptonite on earth had been destroyed but they were wrong.

Kara led the way into Lena’s private lab. She used her x-ray vision and laser vision to gain entry. Once they stood in front of the safe, she was able to do exactly what she had done before. Unbeknownst to them, a silent alarm was triggered. Lena had set up the security alert to email her directly if there was a breach but now that Mara had access to Lena’s life, she was informed of the Super’s entry.

Once the safe was open, Kara pulled out the yellow envelope. She couldn’t believe it. She was right. She knew Lena almost as well as she knew herself.

Kara pulled the letter out of the envelope. She read the first couple of lines to herself.

“Come on Kar…read it aloud. We need to know what we are up against”, Alex said.

Kara read aloud.

“Lena, my perfect daughter, I have a terrible secret about you I must confess. Before I explain, please know that your mother and I love you very much and we are so proud of the woman you have become. You are everything we hoped for and more. I hope you understand that everything we did, we did because we love you and you are our heart. I suppose I should start at the beginning.:”

Kara read on. She read the whole letter aloud and by the end Clark, Alex and Kara stood there stunned. It was almost too much to take in.

“My God. Poor Lena”, Alex said shocked.

“Now we know her name. Mara”, Kara said through a clenched jaw.

“So…she’s a clone”, Clark said matter of fact.

“She’s perfect”, Kara said sincerely.

“We need to go and find this Aoife right away. She may be the only person that can help us stop her”, Clark said.

“Agreed”, Kara said firmly.

Without warning a shot rang out.

Standing in the doorway were Mara, Lillian and a handful of their goons.

“Oh…you’re not going anywhere “Supers”.”

Samuel raised his kryptonite gun and aimed it at Kara. Superman walked over and ripped the gun out of his hands and threw it it across the room.

Mara was annoyed.

“You’re time on this planet has ended Supergirl. We will destroy you. Mara pulled out the rock of Kryptonite she had in her pocket and pressed it to Kara’s face. Kara started to go pale. Kara raised a hand to Mara but she couldn’t hit her and she didn’t know why. Alex and Clark fought off the goons. They were very strong and very eager to prove themselves to their new masters.

Alex saw Kara was in trouble. She ran over and without hesitation, she kicked Mara hard in the side. She dropped the rock and Alex kicked her in the face hard. The goons scrambled.

Clark, Kara and Alex were able to fight off the remaining goons and get away with the package but they accidentally left the letter on the lab table.

They made a quick exit and flew back to the D.E.O. to make sure they had shaken Mara and her mad band of misfits.

Once they landed, Kara started beating herself up.

“She got the best of me again. I don’t know why I couldn’t just hit her in the face and end this…and oh God…now she has the letter. Lionel said how important it was that she not see the letter.”

“She has Lena’s face Kara. It’s understandable. I wouldn’t be able to hit someone who looked like Lois in the face…ever”, Clark said reassuringly.

“So, now what?”, Clark said.

“We need to find Aoife but we will need Brainy’s help. I’ll see if I can raise him on the comms. I want to get home to Sam and Ruby and make sure they’re safe. We will come back here and see if we can locate this Aoife. Maybe she will have the answers we need to take down this Mara and find our Lena”, Alex said.

“Okay. Clark and I will come with you to make sure the house is secure. We need to keep your family safe right now just in case Mara starts coming after us. The fact that she has armed herself with Kryptonite makes me think she knows a fight with us is coming.”

***

When Alex walked through the door Sam grabbed onto her tight and held on for a good long minute.

“I’m so glad you’re home and safe.”

Alex gave Sam a smile and held her close. She leaned in for a kiss that was sweet and meaningful. All of them were.

“Clark, Kara…I’m glad you’re here too. We have a visitor.”

Alex looked concerned.

“A visitor at this time of night? Who is it?”

“Come see for yourself.”

Alex, Kara and Clark walked into the kitchen and saw the back of a very tall man. He turned around and they were all floored.

Kara walked up slowly to the man. His face was badly scarred and he had a burn on his cheek. He still had cuts that were healing and his arm was broken but Kara would recognize him anywhere. She had seen countless pictures of him.

“Lionel Luthor”, Kara said almost breathless.


	10. The Hours I Can’t Weep

“I’m so sorry to impose this way”, Lionel said with an apologetic tone and a kind smile.

“I’m sorry if we seem shocked Mr. Luthor. It’s just…we thought you were dead. The tone of your letter to Lena indicated…well”, Kara trailed off still shell shocked.

Lionel stepped forward and put a hand out to Kara.

“Supergirl…I’m honored to meet you. I have watched over Lena throughout the years and you have always been there to protect her. You have saved her so many times and I cannot tell you how thankful I am.”

Kara felt a sense of warmth and compassion coming from Lionel. She knew how much Lena adored her father and Kara could understand why. She could also understand why he was not the kind of man who could stay married to Lillian Luthor.

“Lena means the world to me. She means the world to us. Can you tell us what happened? How are you here?”

“Everyone…please make yourselves comfortable. I’ll grab us some coffee”, Sam said.

“I’ll help babe”, Alex said following her out of the room.

Sam and Alex made their way into the kitchen. Sam threw her arms around Alex’s waist and buried her head in Alex’s neck.

“Please…just hold me. I need to feel you.”

Alex wrapped her arms around Sam tight and kissed her head.

“Are you okay babe?”

“I just feel this oppressive sense of hopelessness. I don’t know what we’re going to do. How are we going to find her?”

“We are going to find her…I promise. The letter gave us a helpful piece of information and now that Lionel is here we are going to get Lena back.”

Sam leaned back and looked into Alex’s eyes. She caressed Alex’s cheek.

“I love you so much babe.”

“I love you too. Come on…let’s get some coffee for everyone and find out how he came back from the dead.”

***

Mara sat in Lena’s office chair and read the letter from her father. She read it over and over again. She dragged her sharp nail across the word “clone”. Mara picked up the letter opener and stabbed the letter.

Lillian sat across from Mara. Her smile was a strange mix of angry and entertained.

“I thought Lionel’s worst crime was cheating on me. Turns out the bastard created a clone and faked his death. I wish I could bring him back to life and kill him.”

Mara stared off into the distance.

“Stand in line”, Mara said cryptically.

“So…what’s the plan?”

“We need to find my mother. I need to finish what I started decades ago.”

Lillian smiled.

“You’re lucky I still have some pretty good connections. We will find her.”

***

“So, Mara escaped and blew up the facility. I have no idea how I escaped. I awoke in a hospital a few miles away. I got here as soon as I could”, Lionel said leaning forward and taking a sip of his now luke warm coffee.

“The one thing we have going for us is that Mara may think you’re dead. Having your assistance will help us find her sooner”, Kara said.

Alex stood up.

“We need to get Brainy and head to the D.E.O. We need to find Aoife.”

“I agree Alex. If Mara has the letter and knows Aoife is alive…it’s only a matter of time before she goes after her”, Lionel said concerned.

“I’ll call Brainy and get him out of bed. We need to get this done now.”

***

Mara unlocked the door to Lena’s cell. Mara had other priorities during the last few weeks that pulled her away but now she was going to focus on the task at hand. Lillian stood behind her, eager to see her suffering daughter.

Mara and Lillian walked in just as Lena was shoving the pencil nub and scrap paper into the pipe. Thankfully, Lena was able to explain away why she was standing there by doing some light stretches.

When Lena saw Lillian she wasn’t surprised. She knew about the plan to free Lillian from day one but she was still in shock that Mara had actually pulled it off.

“Jesus Lena, you look awful”, Lillian said.

Lena knew she wasn’t looking her best. She had been wearing the same dirty dress for weeks now. She was bathing with rusty water and no soap, laying on old dirty rags and her body was covered in bruises and scratches from the multiple times Mara hit her .

“I’m sure you love this”, Lena said back to Lillian with a scathing tone.

“I do indeed.”

“Well…you’re suffering is almost over sister…I mean clone, copy, replica or whatever you are.”

Lena’s face dropped.

“You read the letter.”

“I did. I know all of father and mother’s dirty little secrets including that you were something whipped up in a lab to ensure I didn’t die. Has to feel pretty awful to know that you were just a poor substitute. I always knew there was something wrong with you. I always knew we couldn’t be twins. I never wanted to be close to you. I remember from the youngest age that I felt like you were an usurper, an invader in my life. Turns out…I was right.”

“Turns out you’re crazy”, Lena said clenching her jaw.

“My new friend Lillian has helped me locate our mother and I am finally going to finish what I started. In just a few days time…you and mother will be dead and hopefully once you are gone I can find some peace.”

“Mara, you don’t have to do this. Killing us will not bring you any peace. Walk away and move on with your life. There is more to life than just revenge.”

“Not for me. Revenge is what has sustained me throughout my life. From the first moment you stole mother’s attention all I wanted to do is destroy you and I think I have done that. Even if you wanted to return to National City, you would be a pariah, an outcast, an outlaw. Your friends wouldn’t be able to help you. No one would.”

“If you love our mother so much…why do you want to hurt her?”

“Because she hurt me. She hurt me so bad and I have not been able to recover from that. Soon, you will both be dead and this will finally be over.”

Lillian stepped forward with a gun.

“Can’t we just do it now? I want to wipe that smug look off her face. I always knew she was a freak. I always knew there was something not right about her.”

“That’s fresh coming from you Lillian”, Lena said.

Lillian walked over to Lena and socked her hard in the stomach. Lena doubled over in pain and fell to the floor. She was so weak and she had very little fight left in her.

“Enough Lillian. I will let you get a few more shots in tomorrow but we need her to be able to walk if we are going to take her on this little family reunion trip.”

“Fine…as long as I know she will die. This needs to end.”

“Don’t worry…Lena’s trip is one way.

***

“I have found the woman you call “Aoife Kieran”. She is living in the middle of the country on a small farm”, Brainy said with his usual robotic flare.

“Wait, Aoife is here in this country?”, Lionel asked.

“Yes. She is going by the name Maggie O’Malley and she has a small farm in Plainsville.”

Lionel looked off into the distance.

“I always thought she would be far away. She was so close this whole time.”

Kara put a supportive hand on Lionel’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. We will find her and keep her safe. Brainy, I’ll head out right now. Send me the location.”

“You’re going to need all the help you can get Kar. I will get the D.E.O. on route”, Alex said.

“You know…we should be able to fly Lionel and Alex to Aoife’s place”, Clark said. I can take Lionel and you can grab Alex. Four will be better than one.”

Kara smiled and wrapped an arm around Alex’s shoulder.

“I agree. Strength in numbers.”

“I hate flying”, Alex said already feeling queasy.

“Come on…let’s bring Lena home”, Kara said with a smile. She walked over and stood on the balcony. Her blonde locks waved in the wind and her cape flew up already prepared for her to take flight. Alex gulped back her nerves and walked over to Kara.

***

When Lena was finally alone again she wept into her hands.

“This is it Lena. This is it. You have no strength, no fight left but you have to see Kara again. Keep fighting and don’t give up”, Lena said aloud to herself quietly.

She walked over to the exposed pipe and pulled down the pencil and paper. She began to write quickly.

_Kara, My Love,_

_Now that Lillian has joined forces with Mara, I fear this might be the end for me. I assure you I will keep fighting so I can lay wrapped in your arms again one day but I am scared. I’m scared because Mara has said that she will make sure that Aoife and I die this time._

_Kara, I wanted to buy a ring. I wanted to marry you. I wanted to start a life together the way Alex and Sam have. I never wanted to leave your side again and I hate that I have no way to tell you how much I love you and appreciate your heart and your soul. I hate that I won’t be able to buy that ring._

_From the day we met, you have been a light where there was only darkness. I remember even during our first meeting, being struck by your beauty and grace. Those cute little glasses. I just wanted to grab you and kiss you even then._

_Kara, if this is it…and I fear it may be…I just wanted to tell you how much I love you. I love you with every fiber of my being. I love you more than all people, places and things combined and I would die a thousand times over to know that you are safe and protected. I miss you so much I can’t even put it into words._

_Suffice to say, you are the love of my life Kara Danvers. I know you always hated that I said Jack was my kryptonite. The truth is…he was a negative force that drew me in for the wrong reasons. You aren’t my weakness. You’re my strength and I don’t mean Supergirl. I mean my Kara Danvers whose real power was to keep me good over all of these years. Thank you for helping me fight the darkness._

_Kara, stay strong and be my brave Super. I love you more than anything in this world and I promise no matter how weak I am I will not give up. I love you so much._

_Faithfully and with Love,_

_Your Lena_

Lena sat back and folded the letter. She placed the letter and the pencil back into the exposed pipe.

Lena walked back over to her makeshift bed on the ground and laid down.

“Nothing to do but wait. At least if I can close my eyes I can try and dream of my Kara wrapped in my arms. I’ll sleep the hours I can’t weep.”

***

Kara and Clark landed just outside of the front gate to the farmhouse. They set Alex and Lionel down gently.

Lionel smiled at Clark.

“Thank you sir. That was quite the experience.”

“There’s nothing quite like it”, Clark said cheerfully.

Alex looked a little green behind the gills.

“Yeah…nothing quite like it”, she said trying to fight the usual flight sickness.

“Come on, we need to find Aoife”, Kara said. “Lionel…should you go first?”

“Maybe you should go. I don’t know if she thinks I’m dead. We may need to ease her into all of this.”

Supergirl walked through the gate and up the walkway. She made her way onto the porch. The screen door was shut but Kara could see into the house. It was warm and cozy. There was a teapot sitting on a small coffee table surrounded by old books. There was some crochet work laying over the arm of the couch.

Kara gave the door a little knock and called out.

“Ms…O’Malley?”

“Coming”, they heard a voice said from afar.

Within seconds Aoife appeared at the screen door. Her jaw dropped when she saw Kara standing there in her cape and boots.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph…Supergirl? Is that really you?”

Kara smiled. Aoife was stunning. She could see Lena in every feature on the woman’s face. Her sparkling green eyes, her dimpled smile, her warmth. She even had long hair. It's was shiny and silver but Kara was a bit taken aback by the resemblance.

“Hi Aoife…I’m so sorry to disturb you but we need to talk about Mara and Lena.”

Aoife was even more shocked. She opened the door and looked at her with a look of inquiry…not suspicion. Supergirl was above suspicion to most people who knew of her heroics and Aoife knew them well.

“So, you know?”

Kara looked back and motioned towards Lionel. The moment Aoife saw him she burst into tears and ran past Supergirl. It was like they were in their twenties again. Aoife leapt into Lionel’s arms and kissed him passionately.

Alex walked over and wrapped an arm around Kara’s.

“You’ll have your moment too Kar….don’t worry.”

Lionel and Aoife enjoyed their reunion but Lionel pulled back.

“I missed you so much Aoife. You have not changed a bit.”

Aoife ran a hand over Lionel’s mangled face.

“My poor love…what did she do to you?”

“She tried to kill me. That’s what she does.”

“I saw Mara on the news pretending to be Lena.”

“You knew?”, Kara asked.

“Of course. My Lena was always the light of the world. Mara is darkness.”

Kara gave Aoife a smile.

“I always say that too. Lena is the light when things are darkest.”

Lionel approached the two women. Aoife wrapped her arms around Kara and held her close. Kara had not felt an embrace that was so meaningful in a long time.

“Kara…I don’t know how I can thank you enough for always protecting our Lena. You have been a very good friend to her and I know she must care for you deeply.”

“I care for her very much. Wait…did you just call me Kara?”

Aoife and Lionel smiled.

“You have to remember that we have watched Lena for years. We have watched her struggle and feel pain. We have watched her find a family she adores and we watched her learn to love and trust again because of you. You have always been there for her and we really appreciate what you have done and are still doing to keep her safe. I figured out you were Supergirl when I saw you give Lena the same smile as Supergirl and Kara. I don’t understand how more people don’t see it.”

“I love her so much”, Kara said breaking down.

Aoife and Lionel both hugged Kara. Alex stood by and wished Lena could see the image of her parents embracing the woman she loved. It was beyond touching.

Aoife and Lionel let go.

“I can only assume if Superman and Supergirl are here that something is wrong.”

“I wrote a letter to Lena that was to be delivered upon my death or incapacitation. Mara blew up the facility I was holding her in. The letter explained everything to Lena but Mara got her hands on it. She knows Lena’s real origin and that you’re alive.”

“So…she’s coming.”

“Yes. I believe she is and I believe she will bring Lena so she can finally take care of you both. She never recovered after her failed attempt to set fire to the cottage.”

Kara stepped forward.

“We will not let anything happen to you or Lena. We have all suffered too much at the hands of Mara. It is time to finish this.”

***  
Lena sat with her hands and feet bound in the back of the old utility van. Mara had given Lena one of the dresses, a brush, some toothpaste and some soap so she could get cleaned up. As much as Mara enjoyed watching her privileged clone rot in her own filth, everything needed to be perfect for their little reunion with their not so dearly departed mother. Mara had secured the shock collar around Lena’s neck tight. She needed to have control. 

Lillian and Mara spoke in hushed whispers. A caravan of their goons followed behind. Lena took in the horrifying sight of the truck full of angry mercenaries and criminals that wanted to destroy her happiness.

Lillian turned around to Lena.

“I was just telling Mara here that she was the daughter I should have had. She definitely would have joined the family business.”

Mara let out a maniacal laugh.

“Yeah…you could have ended up in the crazy house while I was pampered and loved. I would never have turned my back on them. Who knows? Maybe when you see Kara die you will be so grief stricken that you will go crazy before I kill you. That would be a fitting end for you.”

***

Alex, Clark, Kara, Lionel and Aoife all stood at the center of the farmhouse.

“Are we ready?”, Lionel asked.

“I think we are”, Aoife said with a smile.

“Aoife, I’m begging you…please don’t use yourself as bait. Superman and I can confront them straight away”, Kara said.

Aoife put a hand to Kara’s cheek and looked at her with Lena’s eyes and sweet smile. Kara’s heart warmed.

“You need to get the jump on her. This plan will work for sure but you need me to distract her. I will be just fine sweetheart…but thank you for looking out for me.”

“You look so much like Lena. It’s uncanny.”

“You care about Lena very much don’t you?”

“I….I’m in lo…”, Kara just managed before Alex interjected.

“They’re here. We need to go.”

Aoife smiled at Kara.

“Later.”

Lionel gave Aoife a deep loving kiss and they all disappeared into the back room.

Aoife walked over to the kitchen table and calmly continued de-stemming a large bowl of green beans. She had been waiting for this for thirty years.

Aoife heard the sound of the van driving up and a large truck pulled up after it. Aoife just tried to stay calm and continued to clean the green beans.

Aoife closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. She heard the screen door open and footsteps made their way into the kitchen. She didn’t even look back when the footsteps stopped.

“Hello Mother”, Mara said behind her.

“Hello Mara.”


	11. I Feel It All

Mara stepped forward quickly. She pressed the button on Lena’s shock collar and dragged her inside. Lena whimpered and winced. Aoife turned around. She hadn’t seen her baby girl since Lena was four but her heart hurt hearing her in pain.

The moment Aoife’s eyes met Lena’s, they both got emotional. Mara grabbed Lena and threw her down to the floor. Aoife reached out for Lena instinctively.

“Please Mara! Stop this.”

“Oh…does this bother you mother?”, Mara asked as she pressed the button again. Lena was just starting to recover from the last shock and flattened to the ground once more. Her body shook with uncontrollable tremors and searing hot pain.

Mara turned around and addressed one of the goons.

“Spread out. Cover the perimeter of the house and I want a few of you in here. We need to be ready for a fight.”

“Come Lena…let’s sit with mother and reminisce.”

Mara grabbed Lena’s arm and picked her up off the ground. She pushed her hard onto one of the kitchen chairs. They both faced Aoife. Two faces that were almost identical except for the crazed look in Mara’s eyes and the ghost like paleness of Lena’s face.

Lena was terrified and had given up any hope of the situation getting better. She was pale, disheveled and she had scratches and bruises all over her. The large bowl of green beans helped to create a strange tableau for this reunion.

“So…mother…you’re alive and you faked your death to protect your precious clone Lena. This is some real macabre stuff.”

“Macabre is you spending your entire life hating your family and trying to kill us Mara”, Aoife said with more disappointment than disdain.

Mara got angry and pressed the button on the shock collar again, Aoife immediately regretted her words when she saw Lena in pain.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Was that so hard mother?”, Mara asked with a little smile.

“I was apologizing to Lena.”

Lena was drained. The shocks had sapped the remaining power she had left. All of her hope was gone and she was sure she was going to die within minutes. She knew Mara had waited a long time to kill her just at the right moment.

Lena knew from Lionel’s letter and Mara’s long winded speeches that Mara’s dream was to kill Lena and Aoife. Now that they were together, Mara finally had her wish. Lena couldn’t help but think of her father. Lena missed her father so much and the pain of him being gone was almost as excruciating as the pain of knowing that she would never see her Kara again.

***

The goons grabbed their weapons from the trucks and spread out around the house. They were all big, mean and for hire to the highest bidder. One of the goons stood by the back door. He pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. Suddenly a hand grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him into the sky. No one saw. He was gone.

***

Aoife knew she had to try to connect with Mara even though she was disgusted with everything she was doing.

“Mara…listen…I love you very much and I always have.”

“Then why did you PRETEND TO BE DEAD?”, Mara demanded angrily.

“I was afraid of you Mara. You were my daughter and of course I wanted to be with you but your jealousy and aggressive need to cut your father and Lena out of my life was too much. You tried to kill us. We didn’t know what to do.”

“You could have tried harder to love me. You could have sent this science experiment you named Lena away for good so we could have been a family.”

Lena felt sick. She stared out the window. There were two goons standing outside. Out of nowhere one of the goons floated upward and then the other. Lena tried not to react.

_Could she be here?_

“We definitely could have tried harder and I will always regret that. Mara, please…let Lena go. End this madness and I swear you and I can go somewhere, anywhere and live whatever life you want us to.”

“Really? Nah. I would know the entire time you were pining to be with your precious Lena and not me. Who would prefer the company of a cheap copy when they could have the original? Oh wait…you. I forgot.”

Lena turned and looked out the other window. She saw one of the goons looking around confused. All of a sudden, a red boot came down and cracked him on the head. He dropped. Lena smiled a little.

_She is here. Thank God._

Lena’s pulse quickened, her heart beat hard in her chest and every part of her cried out to hold Kara and never let go.

“What the hell are you smiling about?”, Mara asked irritated.

Lena had to play it off and buy them more time.

“I was just imaging what it would be like to live with mom and dad as a family. I was just picturing what it would have been like to sit down to dinner and just have that warmth and love.”

“Barf. Seriously? You’re about to die and this is what you’re thinking about.

Out of nowhere there was a loud boom.

Mara motioned for the three goons inside the house to go out and investigate.

While Mara looked away, Aoife gave Lena a little smile and a wink. That was all Lena needed. Hope.

Mara watched the goons walk outside. She waited for them to come back. They didn’t come back.

She yelled out to them nervously.

“Get back inside. It’s nothing.”

Without warning Kara kicked the screen door in and off its hinges. She stood in the doorway, Alex by her side. Lena could see the rage in her eyes. Before Mara could reach for the shock collar or her weapon, Lena leaned back and lifted her feet into the air. She kicked Mara hard and knocked her over with the little strength she had left.

The remote to the shock collar fell out of her hand and landed in front of Kara. Kara picked it up and crushed it to dust. She grabbed the back of Mara’s shirt and picked her up like an old suitcase off the ground. She wanted to bore a hole through her skull with her laser vision but she knew she couldn’t. It wasn’t about being pure of heart or a good Super. It was about Lena. She didn’t want her already traumatized love to see her that way.

Kara cracked Mara on the head and she went limp. Kara dropped Mara hard onto the ground and moved quickly to Lena’s side.

Alex pulled out her weapon and pointed it at the now unconscious imposter.

Kara dropped to her knees and looked into Lena’s eyes. Lena looked like she had been through hell. Her eyes had black circles, she was gaunt and had lost a lot of weight during the last few weeks. When Kara saw the bruises and the scratches she wanted to kill Mara. She wanted to fly her high into the sky and drop her onto the cool unforgiving concrete.

All of her rage dissipated when Lena smiled. Kara looked deep into her eyes and suddenly her cheeks were warm with tears. Lena’s face was already wet with tears of her own.

“Hold still”, Kara said with a smile.

She used her laser vision to remove the collar and the tape around her wrists.

Lena leaned forward and pulled Kara close. As much as she had dreamt about kissing Kara again, all she wanted to do was press her face to Kara’s. She put a hand to her cheek and pressed her forehead softly to Kara’s. Kara wrapped her arms around Lena’s body. She was still shaking but not from the jolts…she was shaking because she was so happy she finally had her love back in her arms.

“You found me”, Lena said through her tears.

“Of course I did. I never would have stopped looking.”

“Can you forgive me for what I said to you? Those horrible things she forced me to say. She threatened Ruby. She had a video feed of all of our places. Your apartment, Sam and Alex’s place, even the D.E.O. When I saw the feed at Ruby’s school my heart sank and I had to agree to do what she wanted me to or she would…”, Lena trailed off.

Kara put both of her hands to Lena’s cheeks and gave her the sweetest smile.

“There was never anything to forgive Lena. You did the right thing protecting Ruby. I knew it wasn’t you. Thanks for sending me the clue. I was so shellshocked initially…it took me a moment to process but calling me “Kar” was brilliant.”

Lena grinned.

“I knew you would get it. That’s why I love you so much. You get me.”

Suddenly Mara stirred. Alex had been so fixated on the romantic reunion she hadn’t noticed Mara coming to. Mara grabbed Alex’s leg and pulled her down. She grabbed Alex’s gun and pointed it at her as she found her footing.

Kara wrapped her arms around Lena to protect her.

“Time to end this Lena.”

Mara walked over to Lena and Kara. Mara pulled out the rock of Kryptonite. Kara held on to Lena and wouldn’t let go. Mara pressed the green rock to Kara’s face and Kara fell back just for a moment. Mara grabbed Lena and pulled her to her feet.

“First I will kill Lena while you watch mother and then I will kill you.”

All of a sudden the door swung open and Lillian pointed a large gun at Lena.

“Sorry Mara. Lena’s mine.”

Lillian fired a shot at Lena but Kara pulled her down and out of danger quickly. The shot missed Lena but hit Mara square in the chest. Lillian’s face dropped.

Clark and Lionel stepped in behind Lillian. Lena could feel her heart drop into her stomach when's he saw Lionel. She thought he was gone. Her tears began to flow more.

“Hello Lillian”, Lionel said in a low disappointed voice.

Lillian jolted and turned.

Lionel grabbed the gun from Lillian and Clark punched her in the face. She spun around and dropped. Everyone in the room was impressed. Clark was usually kind to women but Lillian wasn’t a woman. She was a beast.

No one made any movement to help Mara. They all just watched her moan and cry out in pain. Finally Aoife got up from the table. Mara’s face lit up. Was she finally going to get the love and recognition from her mother?

Aoife walked past Mara and over to Kara and Lena. She knelt down and wrapped an arm around both of them. She looked at Mara and shook her head disappointed and disgusted.

Alex heard a chirp in her comm.

“Yes. Fall in. We have some cleanup outside. The pile of unconscious bodies need to go to jail and so does Lillian Luthor. We need medical in here STAT.”

Lionel walked in and made his way over to Aoife, Kara and Lena. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around them as well. He kissed Lena’s head.

Mara laid there dying, completely alone in the world. The image of her mother who she loved obsessively, her father who she thought was dead and her clone wrapped in a warm embrace made her ill. Kara held onto Lena and Lena pressed her cheek to Kara’s.

“Fitting that the last thing I would see before I die is a perfect family portrait without me in it.”

The D.E.O. rushed in. A medic moved to Mara’s side. He looked up and saw Lena and was very confused.

Mara’s eyes closed and everything went black.

Lionel stood up and put a hand out to Aoife. They needed to take a moment. It would be short but they needed to acknowledge the loss and the relief of finally seeing Mara put to rest. He wrapped his arms around the love of his life and kissed her cheek.

“I missed you so much.”

Aoife placed a hand on his chest.

“I missed you back Lio”, Aoife said in her thick Irish accent.

Kara had recovered from the Kryptonite jolt. Lionel saw the rock sitting on the floor. He grabbed it and tossed it to Alex with a wink. Kara smiled appreciatively.

Kara stood up and helped Lena to her feet. The four of them stood there, a little worse for ware but happy to finally be home.

Lena turned to Aoife and Lionel. She began to sob. Aoife and Lionel moved forward and wrapped their arms around their daughter. Lionel kissed both of their heads and held on tight.

“I can…I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you are both really here”, Lena said through her sobs.

“I’m so sorry it took so long Lena…and I’m sorry we had to do what we did. Believe me…if we had any other choice….”, Lionel trailed off sadly.

Lena grabbed onto her father and looked up at him.

“You two have nothing to apologize for. I was shocked when I read your letter but I know if you hadn’t done what you did I wouldn’t be here right now. I know you two loved me.”

Aoife grabbed Lena tight.

“I am so sorry you had to see me die. I know that must have been awful for you.”

“I went from having no parents to having you both here. I’m just so happy.”

Everyone was so fixated on the beautiful family reunion, no one noticed that Lillian had come to and was fidgeting with something in her pocket. She pulled out a small weapon and pointed it at her daughter.

“I hate to ruin such a tender family reunion…but”, Lillian said as she fired the weapon.

The weapon didn’t fire but instead exploded in Lillian’s hands. The shrapnel and burst of energy hit her in the face and burned her hands.

“Ahhh”, Lilllian cried out. “My face….it burns.”

Alex grabbed Lillian and pushed her forcefully towards one of the D.E.O. medics.

“Serves you right you wacko. Don’t give her anything more than the bare essentials. She deserves to feel some of the pain she has inflicted on others.”

Once Lillian was secured, the family was free to return to their reunion.

Alex pulled out her cell and called Sam.

“Hi babe…we found her. She’s okay. I will. I love you too.”

Alex walked over to the family. She wrapped an arm around Kara.

Lionel let go of Aoife and Lena and walked over to Alex and Kara. He wrapped his arms around both of them. They were a little surprised. He didn’t know them but he was very kind.

“Thank you both. Thank you both for keeping Lena safe and loving her the way you do. Thank you for helping us find our way back to each other.”

Alex pulled back and smiled.

“Lena is family”, Alex said. Lena was touched. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Alex. She held her tight.

“Sam sends her love Lena. She can’t wait to see you.”

“Oh God. Poor Sam. We have so much to fix. So many horrible things to fix.”

Kara smiled.

“Don’t worry. We will help you set everything right again.

Clark stepped forward and put a hand on Kara’s shoulder.

“Yeah Lena. We will help you get your life back to normal.”

Lena stepped forward and hugged Clark. Clark wrapped his arms around Lena and kissed her head.

Lionel and Aoife held onto each other and beamed.

“I can’t believe you’re friends with Superman and Supergirl”, Lionel said.

Lena let go of Clark and put a hand out to Kara. Kara took her hand and beamed. She looked at Aoife and Lionel.

“Mom, Dad…I’m in love with Supergirl.”

Aoife smiled.

“We know sweetie and we couldn’t be happier”, Aoife said.

“I completely agree. You have a good one here”, Lionel said pulling Kara closer.

Lionel and Aoife reached out and pulled Kara and Lena in for a hug.

“It’s strange”, Lena said.

“What’s strange my love?”, Aoife asked.

“Mara tried so hard to hurt us and ruin our lives but if it wasn’t for her we never would have found our way home to each other.”

***

Lena laid in the hospital bed inside the D.E.O. medical facility, surrounded by her family. Kara held onto her hand and rubbed it against her cheek. Alex looked at the computer screen.

“You’re doing great Lena. The serum that Brainy gave you is rapidly regenerating all of the damaged tissue and should help with the symptoms from the multiple shocks, dehydration and malnourishment. Once the treatment is complete we can get you some real food.”

“Absolutely. I can grab you anything you want”, Kara said sweetly.

Lena took her hand and caressed Kara’s cheek.

“Potstickers?”, Lena asked playfully.

Kara let out a chuckle.

Out of nowhere they heard a bit of a commotion. The sound of voices approaching startled them all for a moment until they realized it was Sam and Ruby running down the hallway trying to find Lena.

Sam and Ruby stood at the doorway. Sam looked at Lena and started balling. Lena looked at Sam and gave her a big smile.

“Lena! Oh my god.”

Sam ran to Lena’s side. Everyone moved out of the way. They could see the two best friends needed a moment. Sam wrapped her arms around Lena and kissed her cheek. She held on tight as her tears flowed.

“Lena…you’re home. You’re really home.”

Lena hugged Sam back.

“I am and Sam…I am so sorry about what Mara put you through. I hope you know how much…”, Lena said before Sam could interrupt.

“You have nothing to apologize for. It was what she did to me that made me sure she wasn’t you. She miscalculated at every step. She assumed I would doubt you, she assumed Alex would doubt you. Her biggest mistake was thinking that Kara wouldn’t figure it out. I don’t know if you know this but she is kind of crazy about you.”

Ruby stood by patiently waiting for her chance to say hello.

Lena saw her and put a hand out.

“Come here sweetie.”

Ruby moved forward and wrapped her arms around Lena.

“We missed you so much Aunt Lena.”

“I missed you too and I am never letting you guys go again.”

Aoife and Lionel stood by holding onto each other.

“You’re a very blessed woman Lena my love”, Aoife said. “You have built a wonderful family here.”

Lena smiled.

“I am very blessed and very thankful to all of you. I was scared but I never gave up hope. I had faith you would find me.”

Sam and Ruby stepped back and allowed Kara to move forward again. Lena grabbed Kara’s hand and kissed it.

“It’s good to be home.”

“Oh…speaking of home…according to Lena, Mara had camera feeds set up all over town. She placed hidden cameras all over the place including all of our homes. We did a sweep here and found a couple in the common areas. When we went back and looked at the footage it appeared she got access as a cleaning woman. Weird that no one saw her face or questioned what she was doing here. We will be tightening security.

I will have the D.E.O. do a sweep of all of our places. In the meantime we should all probably find alternative accommodations.”

Lena perked up.

“Hey Sam…remember that penthouse suite at the Plaza? The two story one with four bedrooms.”

“Yeah”, Sam said.

“I think that will be perfect. We all need somewhere to say and I just can’t let any of you go right now”, Lena said tenderly.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea”, Lionel said.

“I just want my family together”, Lena said with a tearful smile.

***

The family checked into the penthouse suite of the Plaza hotel. The suite was beautiful and the perfect place for them to rest and recuperate. They ordered enough room service to feed an army and shared their first meal together as a family. Sitting around the table together was a warm and comforting respite from the hell they had all been through.

“It’s a shame Superman couldn’t join us for dinner”, Lionel said.

Lena smiled. She leaned over to Kara and whispered in her ear.

“I think my dad wants to be best friends with Clark. That sounds so weird. My dad.”

They both chuckled a little.

Kara leaned over to Alex.

“Are you guys sure you’re okay with us taking the master upstairs?”

“Of course. You and Lena need to catch up”, Alex said suggestively. “And none of us want to hear it.”

Alex started to laugh hard and Kara gave her a jab in the ribs with her elbow.

“Okay you two…behave”, Sam said playfully to the sisters.

Lena watched them and her heart was full. She had suffered so much at the hands of Mara but she finally felt warm and safe. It was overwhelming for her to have all of the people she loved most together in one place.

They finished dinner and sat around talking for a bit. It was clear that while they all were reveling in their survival, they were also exhausted from all of the things they had been through. They all said good night and exchanged hugs. Lena walked up to Aoife and Lionel and gave them a smile.

“I have spent most of my life wondering what this would be like.”

“What’s that love?”, Aoife asked giving her daughter’s cheek a soft caress.

“Being able to say good night to you both. Hugging you good night and knowing I have you both in my life. No matter what mistakes you two have made…it doesn’t matter. I’m just glad I have you in my life.”

Aoife and Lionel hugged Lena. They held on for a minute. They all wanted to take in the feeling of finally being together.

Lionel and Aoife took turns kissing Lena and Kara good night. They turned the lights off in the common areas and everyone went to their rooms.

Kara closed the door behind them. Lena moved to Kara and wrapped her arms around her neck. She pressed her mouth to her passionate Superhero’s mouth and kissed her long and deep. Lena held Kara tighter and pulled her closer. She looked deep into her eyes. This was their first real moment alone.

“Oh God Kara….I love you much. I missed you so much. You have no idea.”

Lena moved her hands down to Kara’s chest and looked into her eyes.

“I am so happy my love”, Lena said.

“Me too. I was so heartbroken. I can’t believe I have you back in my arms.”

“I had to watch…”, Lena said sadly.

“Watch what?”

“Everything. All of the pain she caused you. All of the pain I caused you.”

“I’m so sorry Lena.”

“I’m sorry. Watching you suffer…it was the worst experience of my life. The sight of your heart breaking nearly ripped me to shreds.”

Kara moved her hand to Lena’s neck and let her fingertips gently caress her love’s skin. She looked at her with all of the love, longing, desire and joy she felt in her heart.

“Most people don’t get a glimpse of what life would be like without each other. Most couples take for granted how easy it is for them to be together. I will never take you for granted. I will love you completely and with all my heart always.”

Kara grabbed Lena and held her every closer.

“I will never take you for granted…never. When I was being held by Mara in the old Steel factory, it was this very moment that kept me alive and sane. I also wrote you letters. They were terrible and illegible but it helped me express just how much you mean to me.”

“Really? Where are the letters?”

“There in an old pipe in the room where she was holding me.”

“I’d like to read them some day.”

“We will see if we can find them. The main theme was how much I love you. How much I love your heart and your soul. I was so scared but somehow I knew you would find me and bring me home.”

“I’m sorry it took so long.”

“Oh stop…you did the best you could. Mara wasn’t as clever or cunning as she thought she was. She was just a madwoman hellbent on destroying the lives of good people.”

“Well… she’s gone and we’re here. What would you like to do?”

“Can I ask you a question?”, Lena asked with concern in her eyes.

She placed a hand to Kara’s cheek.

“Of course. Anything.”

“When you read the letter…when you found out about me…were you disgusted? Did you think less of me because I’m a clone?”

“Of course not. I’m an alien from outer space that runs around in rubber boots and a cape and has a debilitating allergy to a rock. You are MY Lena. You are perfect and nothing about you could change my love for you. I didn’t even flinch.”

“Good answer”, Lena said with a grin. “As for what I would like to do…I want to take a long hot bath with you, get some strawberries and champagne and make love to you until I can’t walk or see straight.”

Kara grabbed Lena around the waist and lifted her off the ground. Lena squealed with delight. Kara brought her back down and kissed her lips softly.

“Your wish is my command. I’ll run the bath. You order room service.”

***

Alex and Sam closed the door behind them. Sam leapt into Alex’s arms and kissed her passionately. Alex pulled back and smiled at Sam. She moved a hand down Sam’s head and caressed her hair. She moved some hair out of her eyes.

“I am so happy everything is back to normal”, Sam said.

“Well…as normal as we can get get”, Alex said with a little chuckle.

Alex’s face got very serious. She looked deep into Sam’s eyes with all of the love and passion in her heart.

“Baby…I want to marry you.”

“I know babe. You proposed and gave me this amazing ring.”

“No…I mean we need to start planning. I want to marry you. No waiting. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Sam grabbed Alex tight.

“I don’t want to wait anymore either. Let’s do it. We can start planning right away.”

Alex looked down at Sam’s pants. She unbuttoned the button and unzipped them seductively. She gave Sam a sly smile.

“We can start planning tomorrow. Tonight I had something different in mind.”

***

Kara and Lena sat close together facing each other in the enormous jacuzzi tub. Their legs were wrapped together and the hot water and the bubbles made their skin tingle delightfully. Kara took a strawberry and fed it to Lena. Lena took a bite and instead of chewing, she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to Kara’s. She pressed her tongue inside Kara’s mouth and shared the sweet fruit.

Lena took a sip of champagne and held the glass out to Kara to take a sip. She put the glass down and moved her hands under the water. Her hands searched and caressed every part of Kara’s body until she found Kara’s hot center. Lena moved a hand slowly over Kara and she moaned in Lena’s ear. Kara grabbed Lena and pulled her on top of her. Kara moved her hand to Lena’s ass and grabbed her firmly. Lena sat up and straddled Kara. The bubbles just covered Lena’s perfect milky white breasts. Kara moved her mouth to one of Lena’s nipples and began to playfully suck and tease it. She moved to the other and Lena bucked backward hard. She leaned down and whispered in Kara’s ear.

“I had a fantasy like this once except there were a few differences.”

Kara smiled. She was delighted. All she wanted was to know was what Lena truly desired. She wanted to make every wish, every desire, every fantasy come true.

Lena whispered very softly. She was nervous but she promised herself she would be completely honest with Kara about her desires.

“Well…we were in the bath….there were candles everywhere and you were wearing something and I was riding you. Water was splashing everywhere.”

Kara’s entire body shook with desire.

“Lena Kieran Luthor. You filthy little minx?”, Kara asked in jest.

Lena panicked.

_Oh God. Was that too much? I promised myself I wouldn’t hold back but what if I screwed up?_

“I’m sorry if that was too much Kara…I…”, Lena trailed off embarrassed.

Kara smiled and rubbed Lena’s cheek.

“That was so hot Lena. Don’t be sorry.”

Kara rarely used her super speed for personal reasons but this time she would make an exception.

Kara kissed Lena’s nose and smiled.

“Be right back.”

“Huh?”

Kara flew out of the tub with her super speed. Lena couldn’t see detail. She saw a flash of what she thought was Kara drying off, putting on her supergirl outfit and flying out the window. Lena laughed out loud. She loved everything about Kara but the thing she loved most was Kara’s innate desire to make Lena happy.

Lena closed her eyes and leaned back in the tub. She would wait happily for her love to return.

When her eyes opened again, the bathroom light had been replaced by 50 lit candles and Kara stood in front of her naked wearing the the other object of Lena’s desire. 

Lena nearly slipped and fell under the water when she saw the her. Kara approached and Lena could feel the space between her legs warm so quickly she was hotter than the steamy water. Kara walked over to the tub and climbed in. Lena grabbed Kara’s neck and pulled her forward so she could devour Kara’s mouth. When she leaned back Kara was smiling with love.

“Kara…I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

Lena laid on top of Kara. Lend could feel the extension of Kara between her legs. Lena growled. Kara moved a hand to Lena’s wetness. She rubbed and searched for her center. She caressed her softly and then as Lena started moan and stiffen as she rubbed it faster and faster. Water splashed around them but they didn’t care. She playfully danced herself around Lena’s wet center until she couldn’t take it any longer and growled for satisfaction. Lena lowered herself onto Kara and looked deep into her eyes. Lena straddled Kara and rode her wildly. Kara could understand why Alex wanted them to have the room upstairs.

Kara could feel every motion and she was getting more excited. Her body ached for Lena and she wanted to pleasure her completely. Lena rode Kara and pushed herself onto her harder and harder. Kara gave Lena a playful spank and that sent Lena into a frenzied rush of passion. She rode Kara harder and faster. Kara moved her hand through the water and found Lena once more. Kara gave Lena her other hand and Lena put Kara’s fingers in her mouth, sucking and biting Kara’s fingers gently. She let out her last whimper and fell into Kara’s arms. There was barely any water left in the tub. Lena was exhausted and delightfully breathless.

“Wow Kara…I’m…I’m speechless…thank you.”

Kara moved a hand to Lena’s wet hair and caressed her head.

Kara had a look in her eyes that Lena had never seen. It was so hot that she felt the orgasm rising in her again and she shivered a little. Kara’s eyes were intense with love and passion.

“You are so hot Kara. What’s that look for?”

“All I want to do is make all your dreams come true. I just want to fulfill every fantasy…every desire you have.”

“Well…you can check this one off the list”, Lena said whispering lightly into Kara’s ear. “Now…what kind of fantasies do you have my Super?”


	12. Your Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading. I love comments. Please share your thoughts!

“I know I said I wanted to stay in your bed forever but I changed my mind. I want us to stay in THIS giant cozy amazing bed forever”, Kara said playfully.

They looked over at the clock. It was early. They both awoke with a start, terrified it had all been a dream. They held each other close and just gazed into each other's eyes for as long as they could.

Lena cuddled up to Kara under the downy blankets. The insanely decadent overstuffed feather bed, the 1000 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets and the fluffy pillows were all so soft and so luxurious they felt like they were sleeping on a cloud. Lena held onto Kara tight and kissed her lips softly.

“I am so good with that. This is heaven and I love you so much”, Lena said sincerely. “I’m also dreading all of the work we will need to do to set everything right. Mara caused so much damage. Poor CatCo. They must have been horrified.”

“It was a shock but James’ speech gave them some hope. You’ve already done a lot just by making the calls you did and explaining. Lena, I promise you everything will be okay.”

Lena looked over at Kara. Her beautiful blonde locks draped over the pillow, her bright blue eyes sparkling back at her and that sweet disarming smile filled Lena with such an intense warmth and passion she felt like she might explode. She rolled on top of Kara and kissed her with so much love, her eyes started to well up with tears.

Kara moved a hand to Lena’s cheek.

“Are you okay?”

“I just love you so much. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

“I think that every minute I’m with you. I look into your eyes, I kiss your perfect lips, I hear you say my name and I feel like I could die a happy woman.”

Lena smiled and caressed Kara’s ear. She moved a hand down her neck.

‘Well…you sure heard that a lot last night”, Lena said with a sly smile.

Kara looked at Lena with serious eyes.

“Listen…I need you to promise me something”, Kara said.

“Of course. Anything.”

“No matter what you face…no matter what challenges come your way…we handle them together. You will never walk alone again Lena. I want you to always be honest with me about your fears, your pain and your desires. I will always be here to help you and support you but we have to do it together.”

Lena rolled off Kara and laid next to her. Their faces were only a few centimeters apart.

“I promise. I will never hold back with you. I will always be honest.”

“You never have to be afraid. There is nothing in this world that would ever make me stop loving you. Your family, your origin, the secrets that lie deep inside your heart…nothing will ever make me love you less. I love you more with every thing you share with me.”

Lena buried her head in Kara’s neck and placed a hand on her chest.

“You have always had faith in me. I have never understood it. You were so loyal, so loving from day one. I was a Luthor and you had no reason to trust me. I can’t say that about anyone else. You have always seen the good in me and I love you so much for believing in me. I need you to understand that my need to walk alone was never about me not trusting you. It has always been about my own fears and doubts about myself. I never felt confident enough about my goodness to ask any of you to stand by me blindly. I always worried that being a Luthor was my weakness.”

“But now you see Aoife and Lionel. They are good people and they loved you enough to go through hell for over thirty years. Your father is a Luthor too. You and Lionel represent the heart and love behind the Luthor name. The days of the name Luthor being synonymous with evil are over…thanks to you.”

“I am so happy. It is all so surreal. I already have the most wonderful family in the world. You, Sam, Alex and Ruby are everything to me and now I get to share you with my parents. Oh and can we just talk about how cool they think you are by the way? Who needs to bring home a doctor? I brought home Supergirl.”

Kara smiled and blushed a little.

“I’m glad they like me. I just wanted them to see how much you mean to me.”

“You found me. They know.”

“I loved them instantly. Is that weird? It wasn’t hard going from someone like Lillian to Aoife. She is so warm and kind. The moment I saw her…I felt your heart beating within her. I saw your eyes, your smile.”

“I have a mother. A real mother who is warm and loving and who wants me to be happy. That will take some getting used to.”

“I hate to even suggest this but should we go see if anyone wants some breakfast? You and I will have plenty of time to connect but I also want you to spend some time with your family and Sam too.”

“How many different ways can I tell you I love you Kara?

“I don’t know but I never get tired of hearing it and I never get tired of telling you how much I love you. I guess we waited so long that it just bursts out of us.”

“I love that you are so giving. You could be selfish and demand that I just stay here wrapped in your arms for eternity. I would follow you anywhere”, Lena said sincerely.

“And I would follow you to the ends of the earth.”

“You’ve proven that to me time and time again my love”, Lena said as she caressed Kara’s face.

“Let’s go find our family.”

 ***

 Over the next few months Alex, Kara, Clark and Sam worked hard to clear Lena’s name. Alex and Sam pulled together all of the footage of Mara and the weird discrepancies. They even found footage showing Mara dragging Lena out of the old steel mill from a D.E.O. drone.

Superman and Supergirl came out and explained that Lena’s estranged twin had held her captive and committed all of the offenses. No one believed it was anyone's business that Lena was a clone and not a twin. They all made a pact to protect that secret at all costs. With so many trusted voices standing behind her, Lena’s name was cleared and life started getting back to normal.

When things were finally put back where they belonged, Lena threw a party at L-Corp to thank everyone for their help. She invited her whole new family and included Nia and Brainy since they too, had been so helpful in clearing her name and bringing her home.

There was food, champagne and music but it wasn’t a stuffy affair. It was warm and silly and they danced to every bad song they could think of. Aoife and Lionel watched Lena with all of her friends together and they were filled with love and pride. Their daughter had faced insurmountable challenges and had come out on the other side with grace and a wonderful sense of contentment.

Lena asked everyone for their attention. Everyone gathered close.

“There are not enough words in the English language for me to tell you how thankful I am to all of you for your love and support.”

Kara moved close to Lena and wrapped an arm around her waist. She knew Lena was feeling very emotional.

“You all had faith in me, loved me and knew me better than I could have ever hoped for. Thank you for not seeing Mara’s crimes and thinking it was me. It has always been easy for National City to believe the Luthors are bad but I know that my father and I can show the world that the Luthor name should be synonymous with love, family and loyalty to the people we care about the most.”

Lena waved over her assistant. Kara let go of Lena and smiled. She knew what was coming.

Her assistant handed her a mysterious envelope.

“Sam…”, Lena said with a tender smile.

Sam walked over to Lena and took her hand.

“You are a wonderful woman, a wonderful partner and mother and such a wonderful friend to all of us. I have always recognized your intelligence and your uncanny knack to keep this company running and do it with a smile.”

“You make it easy Lena. You are the best boss ever.”

“What Mara did to you was devastating to me. As you know, right before everything with Mara happened, I told you that you were just as much a part of L-Corp as I am. You and I run L-Corp like a family business so it is time to make it official.”

Lena handed Sam the envelope with a smile and tear filled eyes.

“What’s this Lena?”

“This is me making you my partner and co-owner of L-Corp. Now you own part of L-Corp and we are officially Co-CEOs. You will of course still be our badass CFO doing what you love but you will never again feel the uncertainty you felt when Mara tried to take everything away from us. You have helped me in more ways than you will ever know and I love you so much. You, Ruby and Alex are family and I think it is high time we make L-Corp a family business again.”

Sam was speechless. Tears fell down her cheeks and she just stood there holding the envelope frozen.

“But…but what about your father? What about you Lionel?”

Lionel stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Lena.

“Sam, I’m an old man. I’ve been given a chance to finally be with Aoife. Running L-Corp is something you and Lena have done superbly. I couldn’t have done it better. Lena and I talked about it and I love the idea that she will have a partner to support her. She already has a great partner at home.”

Lionel looked back and winked at a blushing Kara.

Lena stepped forward and grabbed both of Sam’s hands.

“What Mara did to you, will never happen again. You and I are in this together.”

Sam wrapped her arms around Lena and hugged her so tight Lena let out a squeak. Everyone in the room laughed and started applauding. They all made their way forward to hug and congratulate Sam. Alex walked over to Sam and gave her a sweet kiss.

 ***

 With all of the Mara events behind them, Sam and Alex planned the wedding of the century. They had two hundred guests from all over and everyone was dressed to impress. Everyone except Alex who had a D.E.O emergency right before the ceremony and was forced to marry Sam in her black tactical gear.

When Sam saw Alex approach the altar she couldn’t help but smile.

“Somehow this feels right. This is the outfit that made me fall in love with you.”

When Alex saw Sam her jaw dropped. Sam wore a beautiful white silk dress and flowers in her hair. She was the most beautiful woman Alex had ever seen.

During the ceremony, Lena stood at Sam’s side and Kara stood next to Alex. Ruby was the flower girl and she was in charge of the rings. After Alex and Sam exchanged their vows, Sam and Alex brought Ruby up and Alex made a promise to her to love and protect her and her mother for the rest of their lives. She gave Ruby a necklace. The necklace was stamped with the official date she legally adopted Ruby. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Lena and Kara stood there at the altar watching their family grow and all they wanted was to be together. Both of them knew they wanted to be together forever but neither of them felt like they needed to rush it.

 ***

Lena and Kara made a trip to the abandoned steel mill. They walked through the filthy dilapidated building and they were filled with a surprising sense of peace and contentment. Lena should have been traumatized but Mara was gone and they survived the whole ordeal.

When Lena located the room where she was held, she wondered if the letters would even be there. The D.E.O had come in and performed a full sweep during their investigation.

She walked up to the exposed pipe and reached far back for the letters. They were still there and so was the tiny pencil nub she had left behind. She turned and handed the letters to Kara.

“Please keep in mind that they may seem a little delirious or pathetic at times. I started going a little mad with longing and pain.”

Kara wrapped her arms around Lena and she began to weep. Lena moved her hands to Kara’s cheeks.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I am so sorry you were trapped here. I am so sorry I didn’t find you sooner. I love you so much and I hate that you had to go through all of this.”

“Don’t be sorry. I’m not. Not one bit.”

“Really?”, Kara asked wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Really. What Mara put me through was a small price to pay for all of the happiness I have now. I have the love of my life who I will never take for granted, I have my parents back, Sam is now my partner and that was one of the best decisions I ever made and Alex and I are really close now and I love that.”

Kara smiled her biggest smile.

“I love that too. I think it is so sweet you guys have a friendship now.”

“We’re having lunch tomorrow in fact”, Lena said joyously.

“Thank you Lena.”

“For what my love?”

“For sharing these letters with me. It means a lot.”

“Full transparency. I also feel like there were things in those letters I could never possibly say out loud. It was the most honest, free flow of emotion I have ever felt.”

Kara wrapped her arms around Lena and kissed her tenderly.

“Come on…let’s get out of here.”

 ***

“That’s it. That’s the one. What do you think?”

Alex leaned over the ring case and looked down.

“Stunning Lena…absolutely stunning.”

“Do you think she’ll like it?”

“I think she will love it. It’s perfect.”

“She’s perfect.”

“You know…I’m proud of you for waiting. I know it was probably hard considering you wanted to buy her a ring after your first kiss”, Alex said with a chuckle.

“Try the moment we met”, Lena said playfully. “I didn’t want to ask her until I knew I could clear my name and until all of the dust had settled. If we commit to each other for the rest of our lives, I want it to be totally unencumbered.”

“Lena, the ring is perfect, she will love it and Sam and I are so happy you two finally found your way to each other.”

“Is it possible to love someone more every day?”

“Yep. That’s how I feel about my family. Every morning I wake up next to Sam…my heart is fuller and more in love with her. When I’m with her and Ruby…everything just makes sense. I used to have this wild drive towards danger. I never felt satisfied. Now I am happiest when I lay there with my girls and just watch a movie.”

“I love that. You make Sam so happy. I hope you know that. She tells me all of the time how wonderful she feels.”

“So…here’s the big question. How and when are you going to propose?”

“God…I have no idea.”

“Have you and Kar found a new place yet?”

“Nope. We’ve been looking but nothing seems right.”

“If you could live anywhere, where would you want to live?”

“There’s this piece of land overlooking National City. It has a special place in my heart for a myriad of different reasons. It’s where Kara and I first kissed and it was glorious.”

“Okay…sounds amazing.”

“We can’t build there. The city owns the land and they have it earmarked for a new apartment complex. It will bring in money and they aren’t budging on it.”

“That's a shame Lena…I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be…I am sure we will find something wonderful. We both agree that there are just too many painful memories at both of our places.”

“I totally get it. Well…let’s plan the proposal. Will there be potstickers?”

The two women both laughed.

 ***

Kara sat at her desk at CatCo late one evening and read all of Lena’s letters. Every letter was beautiful and sad and poignant. Kara cried reading almost every one of the missives. It was almost too much to bare, picturing her love slowly counting down the days until Mara would kill her. The way she described watching Kara on the cameras as she was forced to break up with her was almost too excruciating to read but she didn’t want to be in the dark about what Lena faced.

Kara was very surprised that the letters contained a lot of very detailed and quite graphic sexual fantasies Lena had. As Lena put it, she believed her mind was trying to take her somewhere blissful in her dreams to combat the terrors she was facing. Her bliss was lying naked in Kara’s arms.

With each letter, Kara learned more about Lena and with each new piece of information, Kara felt closer and more in love with her. Her heart was completely and totally overwhelmed.

She picked up the phone and made a call.

“Hi…Clark…. I'm sorry to call so late. I was just wondering if you had some time this weekend to come out to National City.”

“Sure. Everything okay?”

“Absolutely but I need your help with something.”

“Of course. Can I bring Lois?”

“Please. I’m going to need everyone.”

 ***

When Alex got home, Ruby ran up to her and threw her arms around her.

“You’re home!”

“Hi Baby….how was your day?”

“Amazing. I built a robot for my robotics class. Aunt Lena helped me and it turned out great.”

“That’s fantastic. Hey…can you keep a secret?”

“Of course.”

“Come on…let’s find your mom. Something exciting is going to happen soon.”

Alex’s phone began to ring.

“It’s your Aunt Kara”, Alex said to Ruby as she gave her a one-armed hug.

“Hey Kar. What’s up?”

Ruby looked up at Alex while she listened to Kara speak. She started laughing hysterically.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. No problem. I would be happy to help. Okay…I’ll see you in the morning.”

Sam walked over when she heard Alex talking.

“Everything okay?”, Sam asked after she gave Alex a sweet kiss on the lips.

“Depends…how do I manage two proposals?”

 ***

 Kara had only been to the mayor’s office a handful of times before Mara blew up their lives. Usually her business had to do with ridding the city of some horrible threat. The old mayor had been a bit of a grouch but the new mayor Mary Masterson was kind and Kara found herself stopping by to chat with her in her red boots and cape more often just to say “Hi” and check in.

Mary was one of the only other people outside of their core group of friends and family that knew Kara’s secret identity. She was forced to reveal it during an attack on the Mayor’s office. Mary had been lovely and gracious about the whole thing and swore to always protect Kara’s secret no matter what.

When Kara walked into the office, Mary greeted her with a big smile.

“Hi Supergirl. It’s good to see you. Everything okay in National City?”

“Everything is great. I need to ask you a favor and it’s a big one.”

“Is it as big as us asking one person to protect an entire city?”

“No…but equally important to me.”

“Come…take a seat and I’ll see if we can help you.”

 ***

Alex paced back and forth nervously behind Brainy.

“Can you do it?”

“I think I can. I mean…it’s definitely going to take some work.”

“This is a very big deal. It has to be perfect.”

“She is literally moving time and space for her.”

“Yep. That’s how much she loves her. Please…do what you can.”

 ***

Lena and Sam sat in Lena’s office discussing the proposal.

“I am so nervous I’m sick”, Lena said.

“What are you nervous about? Her saying yes or getting married?”

“Neither. I know she will say yes and I would to marry her a thousand times over. I’m just nervous about what we’ve planned. I hope it’s going to be okay.”

Sam started laughing.

“It’s going to be beautiful Lena. You and Alex have really pulled together something so spectacular…so personal.”

“When are you doing it?”

“Brainy said everything should be ready at eight. Alex is setting everything up.”

“This is so exciting.”

Lena’s phone chimed. She looked down at the text message from Kara and smiled her very special Kara smile.

“I know what that smile means”, Sam said playfully.

“Yes…it’s Kara. She said she thinks she found us a place. She wants me to come see it…tonight…oh jeez.”

Sam’s phone chimed as well. She looked down at the phone and it was a text from Kara.

Super secret family dinner tonight at 7:30. A car will pick you up at 7:00 pm. Don’t say a word to Lena.

“Who was that?”, Lena asked.

“Alex. Just telling me she loves me.”

 ***

When the limo pulled up in front of L-Corp, Sam was surprised to find all of the people Kara and Lena loved already in the car. Aoife and Lionel, Ruby and Alex, Clark and Lois, and Nia and Brainy all sat in the limo smiling.

Sam took the last seat next to Alex who looked super tense.

“Hi babe…are you okay?”, Sam whispered in her ear.

“Define okay. This was a lot. I hope it all comes together. There were so many moving parts”, Alex whispered back.

“Any idea what this is all about?”, Nia asked.

Alex, Clark, Aoife and Lionel all knew what was happening but they all just smiled and shook their heads. Alex and Clark had helped Kara pull everything together and Kara had gone to Aoife and Lionel the morning after she spoke to Clark and told them what she was planning.

“It’s good to see you Clark. I’m glad you and Lois could come into National City”, Alex said nervously.

“I haven’t been able to spend much time with Kara so it’s been really nice to catch up a bit”, Clark said.

“Yeah…Kar’s been busier since she took over for James at CatCo”, Alex said.

“How’s that going?”, Aoife asked. “I know she was a bit stressed out about the change.”

“She’s loving it and James is happy to be back in Metropolis”, Clark said cheerfully.

“She is a great fit and she has been such a wonderful leader. She’s the best mentor I could ask for”, Nia said warmly.

“I believe it is quite illogical for her to take on a job that requires more responsibility. After all, she does need to be able to do her other job effectively”, Brainy said robotically.

“Actually, this role has afforded her the ability to delegate which has been great for her…and Nia has been amazing as her number one”, Alex said with a sweet smile.

The limo pulled up and the group piled out. They had pulled up atop the hill behind the old strawberry field overlooking all of National City. At the top of the hill a long table was set with candles, flowers, food and drinks.

Alex asked for everyone’s attention.

“Okay…so in about 5 minutes Kara will be pulling up with Lena blindfolded. We all need to stand around the table.”

Nia got excited.

“Is this what I think it is?”, Nia asked.

Aoife smiled and have her a pat on the back.

“I think it is love.”

They all moved close to the table. Sam took Alex’s hand and gave it a supportive squeeze.

“It’s going to be perfect babe. I promise.”

A car pulled up and Kara and Lena got out of the back seat. The car pulled away and Kara moved Lena to the perfect spot for her to take everything in. She took off her glasses and let down her hair over her shoulders. This was the real Kara.

“Come on Kara…all of this suspense. I have to see.”, Lena said pleading.

Kara stood in front of Lena and gave her a little kiss on the lips.

“I love you so much Lena.”

A smile spread across Lena’s face. Kara reached up and took off her blindfold.

It took Lena a few seconds to take it all in. She saw the beautifully decorated table and all of the people she loved standing there. Lena’s eyes filled with tears. It was so beautiful.

Lena stepped forward to Kara.

“What is all of this? It’s gorgeous”, Lena said trying not to feel overwhelmed.

“Well…I know we were going to have family dinner on Sundays but I thought we should probably have everyone here when I…”, Kara said as she kneeled down in front of Lena.

Everyone smiled. Lena looked at Alex completely shocked. The whole group stopped talking and turned their attention to the two women.

Kara handed Lena an envelope. Everyone was very confused.

“What’s this Kara?”

“Open it”, Kara said with her most charming smile.

Lena opened it and pulled out a few pieces of paper.

“Oh my God Kara…is this what I think it is?”

“What is it?”, Sam asked.

“Do you remember when I told you there was a place…a place that I was always at my happiest…the place where Kara and I shared our first dance…where we had our first perfect kiss…where my father brought me as a child?”

Lionel stood with his arm around Aoife smiling.

Kara took Lena’s free hand.

“This is the deed. The land is ours. We can build our new home here.”

Lena dropped to her knees and put her hands to Kara’s cheeks. She kissed her passionately.

Lena pulled back and smiled at Kara with so much love in her heart she was shaking.

“I can’t believe you…but how? They said the land wasn’t for sale. They said it was hopeless.”

“I had a discussion with the Mayor. I asked her if she would consider selling me the property. I told her I wanted to build a home in National City. I told her I wanted to live in this city forever and I wanted to do it with the woman I love. She said the development project was important but it was more important to give something back to Supergirl. I offered to pay but she would only take a dollar.”

Lena was speechless. She stood up and put her arms out to Kara. Kara continued to speak on bended knee.

“Lena…you have made me the happiest woman in the Universe. I want to spend the rest of our lives sharing the same pillow. What I’m trying to say Lena Kieran Luthor…is if you’ll have me…I’d like to spend the rest of my life with you. You’re my heart and my soul. You are the earth below my feet keeping me grounded and centered, you are the air above that carries me home. You are the woman who made me fall instantly madly in love and you are the woman I want to spend every waking moment with. I’d like this to be my wedding present to you.”

Kara pulled out a small ring box and opened it to Lena.

Alex wrapped an arm around Ruby and another around Sam.  
She whispered in Sam’s ear.

“Part of their wedding gift is going to be that broken bedpost we saved.”

Sam let out a little chuckle.

Lena sobbed. She looked around at everyone she loved and she was speechless.

“Yes. Of course. Yes”, Lena said through her tears of joy. “Get up here.”

Kara stood up and placed the beautiful emerald cut ring onto Lena’s hand. Lena threw her arms around Kara and kissed her wildly. The family converged on them and gave them all hugs and kisses. Aoife and Lionel gave Kara a hug.

“Nicely done Kara”, Lionel said.

“Agreed. Lovely…absolutely perfect”, Aoife said as she gave Kara a kiss on the cheek.

All of a sudden, a large D.E.O. truck pulled up behind them. Kara looked very confused.

“Alex…what is this?”

Lena took Kara’s hand and smiled at her.

“So…I guess we both had the same idea.”

The side of the D.E.O. truck opened to reveal a large TV screen. Brainy and Alex approached Vasquez who stepped off the truck.

“Is everything ready Vasquez?”, Alex asked.

“Yep. Everything is set to Brainy’s calculations.

Brainy pressed a button and suddenly the screen lit up.

“What is this Lena?”

“You have always said the thing you wanted most was to know me. You have never wanted anything so bad except maybe potstickers and sappy movies. I wanted to find a way to give you my history. Not a written record.”

Suddenly images flashed of Lena as a child.

“Brainy found a way to take snapshots of my life through my entire life. The images you are seeing are me. Everything I am, everything I experienced.”

Kara watched in bewildered awe. She saw the love of her life navigating childhood with Lex and Lillian. She saw her with her father. She saw her heading to college, at her father’s funeral, her first day taking over L-Corp and finally Alex had Brainy stop on the image of Kara and Lena meeting for the first time.

Kara turned to Lena. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was smiling. Her blue eyes sparkled.

“Lena, this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. You know me so well. There is nothing more I want in this world than to know you.”

“Well…this is me, unedited…the real me.”

Kara looked over and saw the smile Lena gave her the moment they met. It was still the same beautiful smile only reserved for her Super.

Now Lena knelt down, dress and all into the grass. Kara started to laugh. The rest of the family stood by and watched tearing up and laughing at the beautiful absurdity of it all.

Lena pulled out a ring and held it out to Kara. It was simple, classic and beautiful just like Kara.

“I know this has already been discussed but Alex did work pretty hard to pull all of this together…”, Lena said smiling.

Kara moved close and put her hands on Lena’s face. She couldn’t stop crying.

“Kara, you know how I feel. You know because I have given you the one thing I never wanted to give anyone before. I gave you my whole, honest heart. I gave you the truth and that terrified me but you have always loved me and I couldn’t love you anymore or I think I might explode.”

Kara smiled and the family let out a little chuckle.

Alex returned to Sam and wrapped her arms around her from behind.

“You are the love of my life and I want to share every moment with you. If Brainy makes another video like this…”, Lena said before Brainy interrupted.

“I’m not sure how many of these “videos” I can make. I may have violated some time and space rules making this one.”

Now everyone laughed except Brainy who stood by blissfully ignorant to how badly timed his comment was.

“IF Brainy were to make another video from this point forward…I would want to see your beautiful face in every frame.”

Kara looked down at her beautiful Lena.

“Kara, Nothing I did could have ever compared to this moment you created. All of the people I love around me…this gorgeous setting and the best wedding present ever. This is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever done for me and I am so happy our family is here to see this.”

“Lena…what you did…I don’t have the words. It was the most beautiful thing anyone has ever done. You literally violated time to show me the real you.”

“So, in typical Super-Luthor fashion…the Super beat the Luthor…but Kara Zor-El…will you marry me?”

Kara kneeled down in front of Lena and smiled through her tears.

“A million times over. I would marry you on every planet, every alternate universe. Yes, Lena….I will marry you happily.”

Lena slipped the ring onto Kara’s finger and grabbed her face. She kissed her passionately.

Everyone started to clap. The family moved forward and converged on the happy couple to congratulate them.

The family sat down to dinner and Alex and Sam raised a glass to Lena and Kara. Alex tried not to get emotional as she proposed a toast.

“We would like to propose a toast to Kara and Lena. They are our best friends and our family. We have been through so much but we made it through together. We are so happy for you and we love you both so very much. Congratulations!”

 ***

Exactly fourteen months later, the gorgeous house atop Lena’s favorite hill was complete and all of their friends and family gathered to watch Kara and Lena say “I do.”

They invited everyone in their lives that mattered. Everyone who had impacted them and brought them peace. Eliza, Cat, Wynn, Barry, everyone who mattered to them was there to celebrate.

After the ceremony Kara and Lena shared their first dance. One of many they had shared since that night on the hill. They danced to the same romantic song and stared into each other's eyes.

“I can’t believe this is actually happening”, Lena said dreamily.

“The moment I read that letter you wrote…the one where you talked about your dream…I knew exactly what I wanted to do.”

“Thank you for making all of my dreams come true Kara. Just so you know…my real dream was being with you. No matter where we are, what we do…as long as we’re together…I’m home.”

Kara held Lena close and kissed her passionately. Everyone flooded onto the dance floor when the music changed to something upbeat. Kara and Lena just stood swaying and staring into each other's eyes as their family and friends surrounded them and lively music played. Everything around them disappeared and all they saw was each other.


End file.
